Revolution (Rewrite)
by Sqydd
Summary: Years after the revolution of Pokemon versus their Trainers, they're split among two factions: rebels and revolutionaries. Reyes, one of the latter, is sent by their leader Alakazam to bring in one of the most notorious rebels, the unpredictable and highly dangerous "King." In the process, Reyes comes to find things aren't as black and white as he initially thought.
1. 11 The King of Bedlam

_**Foreword**_

**Seven years ago—but not to date; that would be a beast in and of itself—I started this pet project, what would come to be known as my most hopeful pet project yet, called _Revolution. _It was my second (?) venture into dark and uncharted waters with Pokémon, that being the idea of those cute little creatures tearing their unspoken masters limb from limb. That being said, there was nothing cute about this idea. But I thought it genius at the time, little naïve me, but seeing how far things have gotten now, I'd like to think it wasn't so vain.**

**This is the fourth iteration of the story, I suppose. The first is on a Pokémon forum which will go unnamed for fear of spontaneous shameful combustion. The second, lost with a corrupted hard drive. The third is still here on my account. And this is the fourth, duh. And even if I have to lock this with a two-hundred-character password, I swear to myself it will be the ultimate version.**

**This is the culmination of seven years' worth of change, both as a writer and as a person. The third iteration was written three or four years ago and I've changed greatly in that span—imagine, then, seven years of improvement, of worldly knowledge, of knowing when to leap over the cliff and knowing when to stay my hand. For one thing, the ridiculously pretentious Legendary Pokémon trife is kilt with fire, you're welcome. Dominic has also been knocked down some pegs from psycho-without-a-purpose and Reyes is a little younger and a little more bright-eyed. These are a few among many other alterations, deletions, and additions within the story.**

**Have you read the old one, and does it matter if you do? No, not really. The main concept hasn't changed in the slightest. This is still the revolution, _Revolution,_ in its gory glory. (Speaking of, what was erroneously labeled T is now rated M, so read it at your discretion!) This is still my most ambitious project as far as Pokémon fanfiction is concerned. I have put a year's worth of blood, sweat, and tears into picking this apart with the tiniest tweezers known to man to see what works and what needs to be tossed.**

**And so now, I present the dissected and lobotomized piece for your hungry eyes, Dear Readers. Sing my praises or burn me at the stakes; whichever you choose, know that I write for keeps. This rewrite of _Revolution _is my pièce de résistance and for certain my last stand. I put everything into chiseling the rough edges and I pray it shows. This is it, and I hereby cut the proverbial red ribbon.**

**This is _Revolution. _Thanks for sitting through this sloggy perfunctory bullshit and onto the story!**

**—Author**

* * *

**1.1. The King of Bedlam**

Reyes remembered how, a very long time ago—what seemed like a lifetime ago, in fact—he enjoyed watching old movies with his Trainer, Brendan. He wasn't The Brendan, wasn't nearly as famous, but he was Reyes' Brendan, which was what mattered. He was a goofy kid with too many freckles and braces who loved nachos and soft pretzels and old movies. Consequently, Reyes, his very first Pokémon and life partner, did too, very much. _"In a world…"_, most of their movies tended to start, and that was the same way all of Reyes' days started ten years later.

_In a world several light years away from the glorious "world of Pokémon" admired by every grade-school child with a television, the skies were dark, the streets were paved with blood and corpses, and every hour was a fight for something, be it food, shelter, or one's life, human or Pokémon. It wasn't a world of Trainer and Pokémon, Pokémon and Trainer any longer: it was just a world of Pokémon—dangerous, drugged-on-freedom, damn-the-consequences, there-is-no-god Pokémon._

Or that's how things were, at the height of the madness some odd years ago. Nowadays people like Reyes bitched and moaned about the "good" ole days while things still fell apart but with much more subtlety. It was an awful mess where the freedom of humans and their Pokémon companions hinged on those like Reyes, who fought for the good of the world and kept the tenuous balance. No pressure on his end or anything, but the safe haven cities maintained by the revolutionaries could easily fall under ruin one day.

He usually didn't stray too far from the revolutionaries' grounds, but Alakazam seemed to want to test his patience by sending him all the way to Mauville City from his stay in Ever Grande. Of course, nobody argued with Alakazam, so Reyes filled his travel pack and told Azalea to expect his corpse as his return. (Of course, that was his infamous grimdark humor—he didn't expect to die anytime soon.) The first time he visited the department store city, it was large and very advanced, full of people and life; now, all Reyes saw was a decrepit city with holes in the glass roof and rubble and shattered stores everywhere. The inside of the place was vaguely lit by flickering fluorescent lights, and somewhere in the distance, a broken tune sounded from some old children's carousel. Rebels wandered around with no discernable purpose, most eyeballing him but none making moves yet.

He found the southern hall leading to the center of the city and was immediately stopped by a Garchomp and Hariyama standing guard. For what, he wasn't sure, as there didn't seem to be much to guard around there aside from the Bug-type Pokémon abounding in the darkness. Ahead, a virtual wall of plaster chunks crookedly stacked atop one another blocked any view he had of the plaza. "What'cha tryin' ta do, pal?" the Hariyama said, blocking him with a hand. Reyes got the feeling that despite his friendly tone and words, they were far from being _pals_.

"I need to see the King." The Garchomp snickered with derision.

"That's freaking hilarious."

"I'm quite serious. I'm here on Alakazam's orders." That was quite a senseless thing to say in retrospect as they promptly became irate, making to crush him into bits. He took their antagonism in stride—he would've been more surprised if they _hadn't _been violent. He'd also defeated worse than them.

"Let him through," a male voice suddenly called from beyond the "wall."

"King!" Hariyama said, turning with surprise. "But—"

"I won't repeat myself."

Garchomp grumbled while Hariyama scratched his head, but they pushed Reyes forward anyhow. He almost complained before he noticed a bit of light shining through a small crack in the border. He approached it and saw it was a small opening. He crouched down and slipped through, wincing at the journey through the pipe-infested plaster until he came out into the plaza.

(He couldn't imagine anything bigger than a rodent wriggling through comfortably. Either the Garchomp and Hariyama were more flexible than they let on or there was some kind of joke going on with Reyes. Shove a Sceptile into a hole about as big as his fists. Screw them.)

Some Pokémon apparently had enough coordination to erect a throne out of stone, which sat on a mini-tower about four feet high. There were two more Pokémon—Aerodactyl and Charizard—standing guard on either side, and the infamous King was sitting on his throne. He was something from Unova or Kalos, which Reyes still wasn't too familiar with, with grey and red fur and a crown made of bleached bones on his head. He gazed at Reyes with icy eyes before scoffing, then he muttered something under his breath.

Reyes sneered. "Don't you like what you see?"

"The King doesn't bat in that park, if that's what you mean." He sniggered, propping his elbow up on the armrest and resting his head in his claws.

"If I may have the gall to comment, what a nice castle you keep, Your Majesty."

"I'm sorry we're not pretty and white enough for thou of thy flowery city. Hell, your shits probably even smell like daisies."

"You have just as much good humor as I've expected." He flicked his makeshift crown up with a smirk.

"Same to you."

"Most people don't find me funny, so thanks." It wasn't friendly banter but the King beamed nonetheless. His teeth were all thick and razor sharp.

"So, what business does the revolutionary army have with the King?"

_Nothing says royalty more than the ostentatious and unnecessary third person,_ Reyes thought, trying hard not to glower at him. "Alakazam, the leader of the revolutionaries, wants to see you personally." He hummed with an amused smile.

"And for what, if I may have the gall to ask?"

_You've got nothing but gall, you egomaniac. I'm sure even a Donphan wouldn't get into a dick-measuring contest with you._ "It's…private."

"Then he should've come himself, or am I not that important?"

"He wants… Alakazam wants to see you in the revolutionaries' city, in Ever Grande, to speak with you confidentially." All the rebels including the King burst into riotous laughter, irking Reyes beyond anyone's imagination. It was a foolish request and he knew it, even told Alakazam, but he _insisted_ Reyes go retrieve him anyhow "with any means necessary." And it seemed those means would soon require gassing everyone and possibly strangling his esteemed guest.

The King raised a paw. "Oh, wait… Shit, he might be serious." Immediately the room fell silent. Reyes had to wonder what a guy like him did with power like that. He was still chuckling as he continued, "If I set one foot into your territory all on my lonesome, even someone of my caliber will easily be chopped down. I don't see the point."

"I don't see the point either personally, but I believe you know how the revolutionaries work?"

"Do what they say and you don't get yourself killed?"

"Indeed."

"In case you haven't noticed, that doesn't apply to Pokémon like me." He tapped his chest with his dangerously sharp claws before waving them around the room, or maybe indicating the city. "I have more than enough protection against the revolutionary army to sleep as soundly as a hatchling as I send you to our butchers. I don't like salad too much, but I think I'll make an exception for your corpse."

_This fucking guy. _"You're quite the joy to be around, aren't you?"

"I've been told." He didn't seem particularly guilt-ridden though, not that Reyes expected him to be. "And I ask again, why would the revolutionaries' leader want to see the King, within _their _city no less?"

"I've no damn idea, but it would make things a lot easier if you would just shut up and comply." That riled up the King's bodyguards.

"Or maybe you could die. Then I would _officially_ never have received the message since the envoi would be found miles away." He leaned back and crossed his arms with a smirk. "I'll even be nice and let my boys do it. It'll be quicker and cleaner." His Aerodactyl and Charizard rushed Reyes, surrounding him on both sides, and he let them reach close quarters before he leapt into the air, causing them to slam into each other. Charizard was paralyzed for a moment but Aerodactyl wasn't, summoning several fist-sized rocks and launching them at Reyes. He used his leaf blades to slice them apart and ran Aerodactyl up, using its face as a springboard to launch onto its back. It twisted trying to get him off, which was when Charizard got back in action and fired a Flamethrower at him.

Reyes fought back a grimace and used Protect, repelling the flames, but that was when Aerodactyl managed to get him off, flinging him against the pile of rocks blocking the entrance. He shook the stars from his vision and focused in time to see both charging him with incredible speed for their bulk. He extended his leaf blades and dug halfway into the ground, moving enough for Aerodactyl and Charizard to instead crash bodily into the plaster wall. They couldn't move them (the rocks were apparently packed together like a Magneton) but the impact stunned them, and Reyes took the opportunity of the lull to burst free and dug his elbow into the Aerodactyl's neck, choking her unconscious. "Oh!" It sounded like the King was applauding.

"Bastard," Reyes muttered, raising his fists against the Charizard. His jaws lit up with blazing red flames as he glided across the ground, fast but not quick enough to out-speed Reyes. He somersaulted over the Flying/Fire-type's head and moved in at his wings with leaf blades extended. Charizard quickly covered his back with several pieces of rubble and Reyes didn't retreat in time, catching a swing of his tail to the gut. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs and Charizard spun around for a follow-up punch, which Reyes caught before lashing out with Crush Claw and slamming him to the ground. He growled and his tail's flame grew more vibrant.

"Ooh," the King remarked. "That's not good."

That came a couple of seconds before Charizard and the surrounding area burst into the hottest fire. Reyes forced himself backwards and his feet slid along the concrete before he regained his footing. His last-second vine cover took the brunt of the heat but the physical force left him shaky, and most of the skin along his arms and legs, including his leaf blades, was shriveling and peeling away. The vines disintegrated as Charizard returned to his feet with a roar.

_I hope the bastard catches a heart attack, _Reyes thought, watching the King vibrate with excitement from the corner of his eye. Charizard took his attention again when he quickly marched forward, swinging his wings like blades. Reyes sidestepped each swipe and snuck quick slashes between the squamate's attacks, creating a back-and-forth with neither party actually landing a blow.

"King—" Someone in the background spoke up but Reyes missed what they said. Their rounds were getting faster and he was losing. The Charizard's claws danced inches from his eyes and Reyes just narrowly parried a fatal strike with his half-regrown leaf blades. His movements were weaker from the fire and he was going to slip up sooner than later. Too bad, it seemed his terrible joke with Azalea would come to fruition. Charizard jabbed again—

"Alright. Point proven." A dark form intercepted Charizard's attack and sent him backwards with a kick. He began to lash out before realizing the interrupter was the King himself and quickly shut his snout. The King half-turned to glance at Reyes appraisingly. "I thought everyone except Alakazam was a pansy."

"Obviously, you were mistaken." Reyes' words were as short as his breath. The King still grinned, an odd gleam surfacing in his eyes. He waved dismissively at Charizard and the unconscious Aerodactyl.

"Take yourself and your friend away. If this had been a real life-or-death fight, you'd have been thoroughly fucked. You're no rebels. Get from my sight now."

"Oi, you don't—" Charizard began, tail lashing, but the King was faster. He quickly covered the distance between them to grab his tail with his claws, creating three gushing rivers of scarlet blood. He howled in pain but the King's grip didn't relent.

"I'm giving you a mercy. If I wasn't in such a good mood, I'd turn both of you inside out." He stepped away, leaving Charizard with a nearly severed tail and probably seconds from blood loss-induced shock. "Oi, Garchomp, show him to the apartments upstairs, would ya?" He then disappeared into some shadows on the side of the room.

"He's lucky I can't kill him." Garchomp sidled onto the scene from some undisclosed, presumably normal sized entrance, about the same time Charizard took Aerodactyl's prone form and fled into the sky. Some blood from his tail splattered on Reyes' face in his haste. "He does this all the time. Don't see why he needs an army, that guy. This way." He nodded around the throne to where a door blended neatly into the wall. "If Alakazam really wants the King, he'll have seconds thoughts then."

* * *

"Work…work…work, damn it." Reyes sat on the edge of the bed as he stared at his rebel-approved PokéNav that could supposedly pierce any signal interrupters, yet each time he attempted to establish contact, there were several beeps signaling a lack of communication. Finally, on his eighth attempt, he heard a raucous reply through loads of static.

"Code?" Jamal said.

"4-2-Charlie-Echo."

"Reyes! Thought you would've kicked the bucket by now."

"Wow, that's funny. So funny, I want to see you in person to laugh."

"Yeah, yeah, so how'd it go?"

"Picture bad, then worse, then Bill's crap, then expand the polynomial and that's about it."

"You didn't get the King?"

"No, I didn't, and frankly I question Alakazam's judgement in finding him an asset." Reyes pressed into his temple with his free hand.

"Well, he's strong and has a good sphere of influence, maybe that's it?"

"I don't think the headaches are worth the power. He uses the third person for god's sake. For most, that signals a lack of something _up there._" Jamal sighed.

"Well, we inferiors will never understand Alakazam's thinking, will we? When are you returning?"

"Hopefully in a few days, including the travel time."

"Then bear him until then." With that, Jamal cut the connection. Reyes replaced the PokéNav in his backpack and lay down on the bare bed. He didn't expect Cove Lily Motel-level accommodations, but it would've been nice not to be smelling putrid meat in every corner of the apartment. He trusted his instincts would wake him in the event of an ambush and closed his eyes, rolling onto his side. Maybe with a little rest he'd be in a good enough temperament not to shear the King bald.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes the room was very dark and someone was fumbling with the window despite its lock. He silently slipped to the ground and stooped below it. The rusted lock popped and the window slid open to allow a large black shadow to go tumbling into the room, sending Reyes sprawling on the ground. Reyes growled at the King, thrusting him away and getting up. "What are you doing?"

"Sneakin' in." His eyes glowed like blue beacons in the darkness. "I have so many rebels hangin' it was hard to put up an illusion against all of them, but I made it." He made a sound that, under different circumstances and coming from someone much younger, could be called a giggle.

"For what?"

"To sneak out with ya, to meet Alakazam!" He face-palmed as if it was so obvious, and perhaps it was to everybody else with an I.Q. that could moonlight as a shoe size.

"You slept on my request?" He scowled.

"I'm a Dark-type, idiot! I only sleep durin' the day. I wanted to agree right away but it wouldn't seem, err, respectable."

"You _wanted _to agree." Reyes' suspension of disbelief was somewhere around atmospheric altitude.

"Sure! It sounds more interestin' than sittin' on a throne an' lookin' pretty. 'sides, I been to worse."

"That much I can understand, but not why you act like a dipshit—unless you actually are one?"

"No! Well, that's subjective." Which meant yes. Not that Reyes needed the confirmation: everything down to his breathing screamed _pain in the ass. _"It's jus', I gotta act like a king or else they'll eat me alive."

"So you're the king to avoid getting killed?"

"Well, mostly. Like, 109% of the reason." Okay, he _was_ crazy. Good to know. "But I will go with you, and we have to leave now before everyone makes a big deal of it." He seized Reyes' arm, claws digging into his skin, but before he could protest, the King pulled him through the window and down the three-story drop. Before they hit the ground, he blasted it with Shadow Ball, pulverizing the large chunks of soil and rock to create a small hole they heaped together into.

"If you fall on my face one more time," Reyes said from beneath him, "you'll be falling into a grave next."

"Whoops, ha-ha, sorry." He stood up and offered a hand. Reyes pointedly ignored it, getting to his feet on his own. "C'mon, there's a secret underground tunnel past the guards."

"How do you know there's a secret underground tunnel?"

"Cuz I made it, idiot!"

"Look, call me _idiot_ one more time and I'll beat you so badly you'll lose your last three brain cells." The King either didn't take him too seriously or didn't hear, because he stared ahead into the wild grass. He started to get his PokéNav out when the King made an exclamation of surprise. "_What_ is the—"

Suddenly, the King tackled Reyes, pinning him against the wall by his wrists. Behind him, several rebels were running to investigate. "What's going on here?" a Manectric demanded.

"This revolutionary tried to take the King's life." Reyes' eyes widened at the hard malice of his tone. He didn't expect the King or any of the rebels to be especially candid, even more so considering the world's situation, but the fact the others had no idea what was going on meant it was something he, the King, decided on the fly.

"Why would you do that?" Reyes asked, genuinely curious. "If you wanted me dead, any of these Pokémon could've—"

"I don't _want you dead_." His voice lowered and his eyes narrowed to blades.

"Then _what_ do you want?"

"The King wants to kill you." He released one of Reyes' arms to stab his claws into Reyes' side. Chlorophyll burst from the resulting wound, matting the King's fur and running down Reyes' skin. "I mean, Alakazam sends one of his own practically gift-wrapped into my domain," he added with a glint in his eyes. "It'd be _terrible_ of me not to take advantage."

He took the King's arm and pulled him forward, smashing his elbow down on the King's. The bones at his joint instantly snapped, rendering his arm useless. The King bared his teeth with a bark, springing forward with his other arm outstretched. Reyes dodged, causing his claws to stick into the wall's plaster, and clutched the back of his thick skull and crashed his head into the wall. The King brought up his legs and kicked Reyes in the stomach hard, making him stumble backwards with chlorophyll on his tongue. The King then pounced on Reyes, knocking him to his back, and his claws found a tight grip around Reyes' neck.

"I've killed worse than you. You're nothing."

"Funny. I'd say the same thing," Reyes choked out before grabbing his wrist and pulling him away, smashing him to the dirt. He quickly rolled to his feet and out of the King's reach before he recovered. He stood on all fours and shook his head out before growling, hackles raised to the sky. They simply stared at one another for several moments, waiting for the other to make a move. Reyes knew he was at a disadvantage; the King was weaker, but he was many times faster than himself. Knowing this, he carefully wound several thick saplings around the King's front claws, which he didn't seem to notice.

The King abruptly leapt forward, almost faster than Reyes could see and certainly faster than he could consciously react. But, since he jumped using his hind legs, the plants around his claws tightened and he instead flipped ass-over-head before his back slammed into the ground. Reyes clenched his fist and the plants extended to bind his arms together. The King cried out in outrage, twisting and writhing on the ground to get free.

"I hope you're sated," he growled.

"Why are _you_ saying that?"

"Because you'll get killed in about three seconds." Reyes' instincts went wild, and it didn't take a genius to notice the sound of a dozen Pokémon aiming at his back. He clenched his jaw while his heart pounded in his chest. He had no backup, only himself. Moving quickly, Reyes pulled a handful of leaves from his tail and tossed them at the King. Two made shallow cuts around his shoulder and neck area, but the others stabbed into the ground. The King's eyes narrowed, then he smirked.

"You're not much like the others: they're wolves in saint's clothing, but you, you wear your hostility on your sleeve. You're strong and ruthless when it comes down to it. That look in your eyes…" He squinted a little, then burst out laughing. "You know death well. I like that look." A dizzy feeling hit Reyes, causing him to release the King and stagger into the wall. It was as if a fog had lifted from his eyes: the other rebel Pokémon disappeared with their footprints, leaving them alone once more in the dead of the night.

Reyes gasped for breath. "What…was that?"

"An illusion," he explained. "I was testing your…_character_, so to speak."

"Yes, well, _so to speak_, I believe you're clinically insane." His grin widened, showing his dangerously sharp canines.

"Aren't we all?"

"Apparently some more than others," he muttered before adding, louder, "Does this mean you'll come with me, god forbid I lose _my_ sanity in the process?"

"No."

"No?"

"No, _you'll_ be coming with _me_. To the revolutionaries' base," he added for clarification, even though it still made no sense. "The King is a leader, not a follower."

"Do you even know the way, _Your Majesty?_"

"'course I do, idi—err, sir." He corrected himself upon seeing the look on Reyes' face. "We just hafta take the Rusturf Tunnel. To Rustboro?"

"Alright, before we go on some life-changing buddy-cop adventure, can I expect more menstruation from you? Because if so, I'm calling Alakazam right now to reconsider."

The King shrugged. "We all have problems we deal with." It was the most normal thing he had said all day. "And anyhow, we've got to go before dawn. I'm at top condition during nighttime only."

"I can see," he muttered, examining his rucksack. It had become shredded and his travel supplies were scattered across the grass.

"Like I said, we all have problems." He bent down to collect Reyes' belongings. "Like you and your battlefield PTSD." Reyes froze.

"How do you—?"

"Yer pain. It's pretty glarin', ya know. I know the signs. You, my friend, are one fucked-up guy." He pointed at Reyes with a grin. "But I am too, so it's fine. We all are. That's the fucked-up world we live in."


	2. 12 Soothing Screams

**1.2. Soothing Screams**

Obviously, the King hadn't had too much outside experience recently, because he looked around Route 117 as if it was the holy land itself, even though its grass and trees weren't any different from any other southern route's grasses and trees. "Take a picture, it will last you longer," Reyes finally told him when he stopped at his sixth Berry bush.

"Oh, right!" Of course, he drew a cellphone from his mane and took several pictures. Reyes folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. Was this the same guy who fought like a wild Pokémon the other night, and followed up with attempts to do questionable things to Reyes in his sleep? It was like with every hour of daylight passed, he lost ten brain cells. At least with other rebels Reyes had met, they were unquestionable motivation-wise, which made the King quite the odd one out. Speaking of _the King,_ Reyes would slit his own throat if he had to continue addressing the flippant fuck as such for the rest of their long journey.

"What's your name, anyway?"

"I'm kinda busy. Ya know, takin' photos."

"You're just not going to answer?"

"Nuh."

"…We have to keep moving, Your Majesty."

"Mnn? Right, right—oh, dese are sho shweet!" He was filling his mouth with Cheri Berries. "Oh mah gawd thesh are delishous!"

"Zoroark—"

"And these Oran Berries are sour! Ack!" He stuck his head into the bush and came out with an armful of Berries. "But these Iapapa Berries are bitter, and these Pecha Berries are soft, and these Rawst Berries are crunchy! And I dunno what these are but they're just right!"

"Those are Weedle Eggs, Your Royal Slowness." Reyes was staring to lose what little patience he had. He reacted impassively and continued stuffing his mouth with them. Reyes sighed. "You're going to get Poisoned, and I'm sure you know where that ends." He made an 'X' with his arms for crossbones.

"Ish alwight." He ducked and scavenged within the bush for more. "I've been Poishoned…doshens of timesh in my life… Made me shtronger."

"Or made you crazier." But then again, now that he thought about it, as many rumors which circulated about the King, there wasn't anything on his background. As a matter of fact, Reyes was certain nobody knew what hole he crawled out of to become "the King" in the first place. "And in any case, we should keep moving. Time's a-wastin' and it's very precious."

He whined, standing up and picking leaves and twigs from his fur. "Fine." He started a sluggish trot that would surely get them five feet into nowhere by the next year. Reyes hauled his arm until they were travelling down the path, him doing so grudgingly. Although Reyes was determined to make the journey as quickly and with as few words as possible, something about his petulant attitude brought a sudden question to mind.

"How old are you?" That earned him a glare as the King cocked his head to one side.

"What's it to ya?"

"Sorry, but among us revolutionaries, we have a convention called _conversation. _Majorly consists of more talking than stabbing and biting." The King muttered something about where Reyes could shove his conventions, then said something even quieter and more jumbled.

"What?"

"Us Zoroark don't mature that fast." Reyes wondered what compelled him to answer; his tone very much indicated he would rather chew broken glass than hold a pleasant conversation. "I'm…preadolescent, okay?" That stopped him short. The King rubbed his arm with a whine when Reyes released it, turning to face him.

"Seriously." Reyes shook his head dubiously. "That can't be right… That would make you several years my junior." The King snorted.

"Yeah, a lot of Pokémon're surprised for some reason. I mean, age has nothin' to do with yer general capability, hence we have child prodigies and such. So I'm young—how does that make me any different from you?"

"…I really can't think of a reason."

"Exactly!" As correct as he was, Reyes was tempted to beat him up anyway. "On the other hand, yer jus' an old dick."

"You—" The King stopped him, abruptly tossing an arm out and coming to a stop. "What is it now?" The King threw him a smirk over his shoulder.

"I know I have a sexy ass, but quit staring."

"What the—"

"I'm telling you to stop focusing on my _ass_ and look around."

"What—" Reyes didn't get it until a moment later, when he sensed a third presence within the area—a strong presence. He stepped away from the King to get a better look around and noticed the shadows were falling oddly heavily for an overcast day. "There's another Pokémon here."

"Way to catch on, Sceptile, although I wouldn't have figured you as the slow type. Hear that? You can come out now." From the bushes came a large Houndoom, tail whipping at the air like a knife. The King's expression was a mix between a grimace and a smile.

"You're saying he's not a rebel?"

"Nope, and from your reaction, he's no revolutionary either." The Houndoom just growled, and in the next second he was charging both.

Reyes had a chance if he didn't take any of his Fire-type attacks, but that was pushing it considering a Houndoom's base Speed. Luckily, he didn't have to think it through too much as the King intercepted his attack, ramming him backwards but knocking himself back into Reyes. Houndoom landed on all fours and shook himself out before discharging a Flamethrower, which the King countered with his own, the flames quelling each other.

"I'll take care of him," Reyes said, pushing the Zoroark away to lunge forward, leaf blades extended. "I got it!" the King said concurrently, leaping ahead, and the result was they tripped over each other and landed in a tangle of limbs on the dirt path.

"You're stabbing my ass!" the King cried.

"It's not any better on this end, believe me!"

The Houndoom snorted, regarding them with disgusted eyes. "This is the King of the rebels? This is what the great revolutionaries amount to?"

"The King is _way_ greater than the damn _revolutionaries!_" he declared, jumping to his feet. "I'll tell you what—" Suddenly he stopped, falling to the ground and curling into a furry red ball.

"You idi—" Reyes was cut off as Houndoom lashed at him with his claws, leaving streaks of orange fire in his wake. Reyes barely dodged it before dealing a Power-Up Punch to his belly, launching him into the air. He followed it up with a powerful X-Scissor to the Houndoom's side. He hit the ground before Reyes, rolling to his feet and biting down on Reyes' left blades before he could strike again. Instead, Reyes kicked him in his face, causing his neck to crack but not undoing his grip at all. He spun around, flinging Reyes away. Reyes skidded across the dirt before coming to a rolling stop, his blades completely torn away.

He moved to his knees just as the Houndoom came bounding back, jaws wide and fire building in his maw. Reyes grabbed a fistful of dirt and tossed it in his eyes, blinding and slowing him, and he drew the leaves from the nearby trees to swirl like miniature blades around him. Houndoom couldn't move any closer, but he wised up and instead focused on the King's prone form. Reyes dispelled his attack in time to see him race towards the Zoroark, flames heated to melting point. Reyes gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees, and with glowing claws he struck the earth with his fists hard enough to cause it to shake and tremble beneath the Houndoom's paws, throwing him off-balance and giving Reyes enough time to completely repel him using Dual Chop. He then took the King's arm, exasperated—he really chose _that_ moment to take a nap?

"_Wake up already_, you royal pain."

"'m…awake…"

"Then do something already." He groaned.

"I ca…m' stomach… Po…Poison…"

"I warned you, didn't I? Now both of our asses are in trouble." He plucked one of the seed pods from his back and shoved it into the King's claws. "Eat this. You'll feel better."

"Can't eat…hurts…" Reyes grabbed the pod and shoved it into his face hole.

"There, problem solved." He turned to see the Houndoom getting back on his feet, angrier than before if such a thing was possible. "Feeling better?"

"Uguu." Reyes' pod crunched loudly between his teeth. "What the hell's in this…?" He took one step forward and collapsed again, except this time he was shaking very badly. "Ugugugu…."

Houndoom charged again, but this time Reyes was ready. However, instead of attacking Reyes directly, he shoved his flaming maw down into the ground. It rumbled briefly before a torrent of flames rose from beneath Reyes' feet, completely frying him. He heard Houndoom laugh as he bit down on Reyes' right leg, and with a small amount of force he tore it away from Reyes' body. It hurt, but he was a Grass-type, he could grow it back easily—the burns were the only real problem.

"This isn't…over yet," Reyes warned, opening his pods to the moonlight.

"I think it is," he replied, turning his attention to the King, who had begun whimpering in addition to shaking. He bit down on his neck, bringing him up and squeezing, creating deep teeth marks and causing blood to spill down the King's fur. Reyes didn't have very much strength to spare, but he hadn't failed Alakazam on a mission yet, and he wasn't planning to. He put all his energy into his remaining leaf blades, extending them until they were as long as real swords, and put them to Houndoom's neck. In a single movement, his head was sent rolling, his body collapsing in a bleeding heap. The King was released to the ground, shaking faintly.

"Zoro…" Reyes' blades dispelled and separated into grass right before he hit the ground.

* * *

He wasn't sure how long he spent doing so, but Reyes realized he was staring at the sky. It seemed he had been unconscious for some hours, as the sun was just beginning to set. He rolled onto his back to inspect himself: his extremities had grown back, and his skin was still a decent work-in-progress. He gradually rose to his feet, finding himself a bit woozy, but that would pass in due time. He looked around and found the world scant one Zoroark. Though the prospect of living the rest of his life without his royal irritation was too perfect to pass up, he had to finish his mission.

"King? Where are you?" he called, searching the nearby vegetation and burrows. Although he found plenty of Diglett and Sandshrew, he didn't find the King. He looked down at the ground and noticed a familiar set of three-toed footprints in the mud leading to the forest's pathway. The dirt was too hard to retain any sort of footprints, so the trail ended there, although it did land him a few paces away from the Rusturf Tunnel. He couldn't assume he travelled ahead on his own, because if Reyes went all the way to Rustboro just to find the pain wasn't there, he would have wasted too much time and said pain could've gotten far on his own. Maybe he went back to Mauville—good riddance, in that case. Then Reyes remembered the injury that Houndoom gave him—if the King attempted any sort of travel in that condition, he would've bled out and died quickly.

"King? King!" He finally gave up after fifteen minutes. At that point, he had searched a good circumference around the tunnel, more than enough space for a Grass-type to cover faster than a Dark-type, and if Reyes was to assume the King had woken up before him, well, he was long gone. He resigned himself to a heavy chewing-out and headed into Rusturf Tunnel. He walked maybe seven paces into the shaft when the light from the mouth suddenly disappeared—no, not disappeared, darkness consumed it. There was another Dark-type in his midst, and not any friendlier than the Houndoom or the King. A high, reedy voice cackled.

"Did you honestly think my friend came alone?" The cavern's walls made it sound so omnipresent Reyes couldn't pinpoint the Pokémon's location.

"What, the Houndoom? If it's him you're talking about, I see why you came as a pair—strength in numbers and all."

"Fair enough." There was a tiny _thud_, then a swift scuttling sound behind him. He swept out of the way just as a ring of sparks flew where claws collided with rock, illuminating the devious face of a Sableye. He vanished into the darkness as the light died out, then Reyes heard its laugh ricocheting off the stone walls. "But with him having weakened you, you're a great target."

_Not good,_ Reyes thought, itching the ring of still-healing skin between his leg and body_. I can't fight like this, and especially in the dark._

A pair of glacial eyes appeared behind the Sableye.

_Gee, I wonder who_ that _is._

"Who are you two anyway?" Reyes prompted when silence befell them, pushing for extra time so the King could do—whatever. He watched the King's eyes close, then they opened again a few feet to the right.

That Sableye hissed, gemstones briefly catching the light and reflecting his visage. That light was the only thing that made Reyes able to dodge the invisible attack that went his way. "You think I'd tell you?" He slid to the left, which was when the tiny but pesky Pokémon latched onto his throat, putting him in a choke hold. He tripped into a stone column, gasping for air while the Sableye laughed.

"G-God, you-you're annoying, you a-a-and that damn K-King." He tried smashing his back into the wall, but each time that damn Sableye leapt to the top of his head, causing him to damage his shoulder blades and tail instead. He spun around, banging Sableye against a gemstone-filled column. There was a loud chomping sound on his head, which he took to mean it did not affect him. He attempted to grab Sableye with his vines, but he just tied them in knots. He also tried his leaf blades, but it appeared he ate them—luckily, he could grow those back too.

Sableye, with his dual rows of needle-like teeth, started eating away at Reyes' skin. Had he had real flesh, it could have been slightly more difficult, but as it was, his flesh was made up of grass with a syrupy taste, as he'd been told. He snapped the vines apart leg as Sableye shimmied down to his neck again, squeezing it while simultaneously digging his claws in. Chlorophyll burst from the resulting wound, filling Reyes' esophagus and preventing him from breathing. He had to slit his own throat a bit to give his blood a way of escape. Apparently, the smell was really appealing to Sableye, because he leapt free from him to the ground to lick it up. Reyes kicked him away, feeling his throat and head sting.

"Are you going to do something already?" The King laughed into the darkness.

"What? I thought you were doing a fine enough job of getting your ass kicked already."

The Sableye growled. "I thought you were finished." Reyes saw sparks fly as their claws collided.

"As you can see, you thought wrong." Some of the darkness abruptly vanished, clearing up an odd ellipse around the King and Reyes. His expression was cool, detached if Reyes had to be specific. He put his claws together and snapped them apart. The darkness converged around him like some sort of magnet, then it scattered in reddish-black waves, passing through inanimate objects like stones and stalagmites and smashing them into bits. The dark waves passed through Reyes' body, and although he felt a severe chill, that was the worst of it. That Sableye screeched as the darkness hovered around him like a horde of angry black bees, pulling and biting and creating bleeding welts on his violet skin. Sableye swore loudly while he batted at the darkness. If anything, that made it worse, and it started corroding his gemstone eyes.

"Y-You…! What is this?"

"Night Daze." His back straightened and his eyes made even Reyes feel half his size.

"I—" If possible, his voice had gone even reedier. The King chuckled at that, a sound worse than the Sableye's that resounded like the Devil's laughs.

"You're _nothing_." That Sableye screeched and screamed as his eyes liquefied into pools of silver, then his skin started disintegrating in the same manner, exposing his small skeleton as if he were some sort of Halloween decoration. Reyes grabbed the King's wrist.

"I'm sick of your brutalizing methods."

He hissed, freeing his arm and slashing Reyes' face. Chlorophyll dripped down his chest and his left eye went dark. Reyes pulled away from him and he melted into the darkness.

"Did you forget why you're with me to begin with?"

"I haven't forgotten, I just lost interest. It happens more often than you think." Reyes sensed more than saw him move further away. "And when the King loses interest, he tends to…break his toys." He would have to deal with the King if he was going to be like that. Somewhere along the way, while the King was trying to become "friends" with a female Manectric, he managed to buzz Jamal and have him run a scan on Zoroark. Among that information was a certain trick that Reyes could use to incapacitate him. The problem was finding him in the darkness, and with him being a Dark-type, that was about as plausible as catching Reyes in the forest.

The darkness converged again, baring the King's form. Reyes raced towards him in the two seconds of light that he had, blades crossed, and tackled him to the ground. "Don't make me do this again," he muttered before digging his claws into the King's temples. Reyes jumped off and watched him try to stand, fall, try again, then crawl around pathetically with his eyes crossed. "Don't even try. I know your balance receptors are in your temples, and with the pressure I put on them you won't be standing…or walking…or moving in a straight line for a while."

"Ugugu, that hurt…" Reyes grabbed him by his scruff, thoroughly pissed off by his fickle personality, and pulled him up. He had to enjoy the guy tremble on his feet like a newborn for his own sanity. "It's not funny…"

"It very much is. I hope this is enough to keep you in line, or I'll be happy to declaw you instead."

"I'm faiiiine," he said, even though he couldn't look directly at Reyes or stand without trembling.

"That wasn't an agreement. I want to know you won't do this again, or else." He grimaced, then smoothed his expression out.

"Swear."

"What?"

"I swear not to attack you again!" His tone was loud and exasperated. Not that his word was highly valid, but Reyes felt he asserted dominance well enough. Reyes pulled him towards the exit, where sunshine broke through the cave's gloom.

"Also, you never answered my question."

"Whaaat?"

"What is your _name?_"

He rubbed his temples with his claws, probably trying to sort himself out. "Depends."

"On what, on whether you're psychopathic or not?"

"Well…yeah," he mumbled. "Why do you care? No one cares about my name, just title."

"And there you go again." He scanned Reyes' face in confusion.

"There I go…what?"

"That _innocent child _act. You're doing it again."

"You're callin' it an act." The corners of his mouth twitched. "Huh. Okay. Well, that's fine." He paused for a second, then grinned. "Dominic."

"Dominic? And that isn't a fake name or anything?"

"I'm not _that_ inventive, Sceptile." Reyes released him and Dominic stumbled wildly before regaining somewhat of his balance. Suddenly, it occurred to Reyes the King wasn't in the best state physically. It was harder to tell within the murkiness of Mauville, but he was scrawny, and he was certainly hiding a lot of scars under his thick fur.

"Likewise, Reyes."

"Reyes… Oh, that name bites."

"_Bites_? What, pray tell, does that mean?"

"Nothin'…" He smirked wickedly, although that lost most of its appeal when he fell flat on his face.

_Dominic… 'Of the Lord.' How-freaking-ironic._

"How did you get to Hoenn anyway?" _And then there's how you came to be the King, followed by why you would be crazy enough to be the King in the first place—_

"You sure do ask a lotta questions, Sceptile." His voice was muffled as he spoke into the stone. "I was taught it ain't nice to go pryin' in people's business if ya don't want yer business pried into."

Reyes was familiar with the concept, yes, but hadn't needed to apply it in a while. Most if not all revolutionaries were candid with each other, so there was no need for an information exchange. He folded his arms as Dominic rolled onto his back and stared dejectedly at the cave's ceiling. Doing that, he looked like a kid throwing a tantru—and there Reyes went again, likening a cold-blooded killer to a child. _Because he is a child, a child that, like me and everyone else I know, was forced to grow up too fast and do the unthinkable. In his case, _extremely_ unthinkable._

He felt claws pinching his nose and lashed out automatically. Dominic leapt back out of his reach and raised his arms in surrender. "Ya stopped insultin' me so I wanted to make sure ya didn't spontaneously die—or have an aneurism or somethin'." Well, Reyes was starting to see the distinction at least: Dominic was the child, and the King was the monster. "But ya should know, curiosity killed the cat, or the Reyes in this case."

"_Reyes_ might kill Reyes if he hangs out with you any longer," Reyes muttered. Dominic beamed before turning to the cave's exit.


	3. 13 Dreams Are for Heretics

**1.3. Dreams Are for Heretics**

As far as opinions went, Dominic's opinion of Reyes was…not good. He was a real stiff and had a twig shoved so far up his ass Dominic was sure he'd forgotten about it, as well as a chip on his shoulder so big all the salsa in the world couldn't cover it. Even so, Dominic was a good judge of character and decided Reyes was a good guy beneath all his stiffness. He had to be to have stayed with Dominic for over twelve hours and not attempted to kill him like many others have, and that was even before he became the King.

"Reyes…slow down…" He was a Dark-type, he wasn't made for daytime travel, let alone fighting, and unlike Reyes, he didn't have a healing factor. That was why he loved Mauville City so much: the ceiling blocked the sunlight so he could survive during the daytime.

"Excuse me? I can't hear his royal highness." Oh, yeah, he had a real sense of humor next to that chip, sort of like a cheese dip—yeah, cheese dip, it was cheesy enough to be that. Maybe he thought it was funny, Dominic didn't know, but it just made him look like a masochist.

"I…I said…slow down…please…" His neck wound ached, his blood felt slushy, and his brain was readying itself for hibernation.

Reyes the Dick pretended to be confused, looking all around. "What? I'm sure I hear something. It must be a Combee."

"Reyes, stop playin'… C'mon, I'm dyin' over here…"

"Hmm, that damn Combee just won't go away."

"Augh, _please_, I'll beg if ya want me to." Reyes finally stopped and turned, allowing him to catch up, but he only managed about three steps before he fell on his face.

"Dominic, are you okay?" He moaned, covering his eyes with his claws.

"S-Sun…" Reyes shuffled his feet then he gripped Dominic's shoulders, pulling him until he was on his shaky feet. He helped Dominic the rest of the way until the grass beneath their feet shifted to the dirt roads of Rustboro. "Thanks, Reyes…"

"Shut up." Unlike the majority of Hoenn, it was revolutionary-controlled, meaning Pokémon _and_ humans could freely roam around together, as weird as it was. He went to the Pokémon Center and set Dominic on a chair. Being out of the sun revived him a little, but he still felt as roasted as a Grumpig on a dinner platter. Reyes gave up on him and approached the Chansey stationed next to Nurse Joy. She recognized him immediately.

"Oh, Reyes, what happened?" She fretted over his injuries, pulling at various body parts with no resistance from him.

"That bastard happened." He pointed at Dominic. She looked between them, her eyes anxious and perplexed.

"Your last mission?"

"Yes." It took a few seconds for the gears to click.

"Is that…?"

"Yes, he is the rebels' king."

"Sup," Dominic greeted.

"But he looks so…nonthreatening," she whispered, staring at him. He picked at his claws impassively. "He's still a ruthless killer though?" She was a good whisperer, to give her credit, but Dominic's ears were some of the best around.

"At least he _looks_ innocent—it might save his life someday. But anyway, can I get some treatment, Meryl?"

"Of course!" She bustled him through the doors into one of the recovery rooms, leaving Dominic alone in the lobby. There weren't many others in the Pokémon Center, but the ones who were inside gave him three looks: the first was confusion, then the second was double-checking their Pokédex, and the third (reserved just for the revolutionary Pokémon) was pure contempt.

He groaned, dropping his head on the armrest. He wanted to eat more than just some damn Berries but didn't know how to go about asking it without getting pummeled—again. His ass-whooping quota had already been met and exceeded for the day.

"Alright, thanks." Reyes came out of the room with bandages over the ripped parts of his skin, the Chansey behind him. "Also, can you do something for him?"

"What?" He sat rigid and glared at Reyes, who unapologetically crossed his arms.

"At this rate, you'll either bleed out or die from infection. Alakazam wants you alive."

"I'll have ya know, I have a _great_ constitution." Reyes made no effort to hide his rolling eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Meryl, please?"

She toddled over to Dominic, touching his face and chest. The contact made him giggle before he caught his wits and growled at her, spreading his claws in warning. Undaunted, she inspected the injuries on his neck and grabbed a first-aid kid from the front counter. She sprayed the open parts left by Houndoom's teeth with some antiseptic that stung and made him giggle a little more, then she wrapped his neck with clean white bandages.

"You may need to give him a canine collar as well," Reyes said. "You know, to discourage scratching." The Chansey found that a lot more amusing than Dominic did, and if he could've, he would've skinned Reyes down to the pulp.

"Now, I have work to do. Have a good day Reyes, and…you too, King." She hurried back to help Nurse Joy.

"Are all revolutionaries so…joyful?" Dominic asked with a scowl.

"What, is that a bad thing?"

"No, just weird. You're weird too."

"Are we really discussing oddities? because if so you should stop right now before your hypocrisy chokes you."

"I know I'm strange and I won't deny it. Well, not weird, but insane. I'm insane."

"So, you admit to it."

"I never denied it." He grinned and tapped his nose with his claw. "I'm very, very insane and that's why I was alone for years."

"Look. I'm not going to judge you because psychoses aren't uncommon, but I can't stand having _yours_ so close to me."

"Well, since yer boss wants me, yer stuck with me!" He sighed as if it was a world-class effort to be with Dominic.

"And in any case, transport should be arriving very soon, so we should just wait patiently—"

"I don't wanna wait patiently," he interrupted, getting to his feet. "I wanna look around! I haven't been outside in a long time and it's all so amazin'!"

"This city is dirt and rocks."

"Dirt an' rocks're amazin' too!"

"I'm curious: did a larger-than-average rock ever fall on your head, either at birth or very recently?"

"Several, actually. Why?"

"No reason." They went outside and sat on the curb, watching cars drive by and waiting for Reyes' revolutionary transport.

"You guys are not that fast," Dominic said after forty minutes.

"Yes, because the rebels appear highly organized," Reyes replied dryly. Dominic didn't say it, but he knew the rebels were very organized and very well-trained—in fact, there had been dozens conspiring on even the teams of the Elite Four before the revolution began, making the plan plausible at the time. He just wasn't part of the strategic majority—he was more of a stupid-on-the-moment guy.

"Why did ya become a revolutionary?"

"I'm not required to tell you anything not pertaining to the mission."

"Says the guy who asked me _every_ question."

"Yes, well, I'm a bastard."

"Yeah, I've noticed. Maybe you'll be more verbose if I use an ill—" Suddenly Reyes' leaf blades were against his jugular.

"That sentence better end with _illiteracy_."

"…It does now." He waited until Reyes moved his arm and sighed. "I'm not any happier 'bout this than you, ya know."

"I couldn't tell."

"No, seriously… I hate you guys. No offense." Reyes didn't miss a beat.

"No offense taken. We hate you too."

"When ya say things, they sound so cruel…" Reyes didn't respond and he sighed again. "Can I ask a question? It's not weird or personal, promise."

"Not that your word matters much, but what is it?"

"You Grass-types… Do you, like," he made a politically-incorrect gesture with his claws, "or do you pollinate with seeds like real plants? I'm curious."

"Did that really not strike you as weird or personal? You should get a brain scan."

"…Seriously, where is that transportation?" Dominic asked after an hour. Reyes shrugged a shoulder, then he turned away to make a call on his PokéNav. Meanwhile, Dominic started walking around to alleviate the boredom. He went around the corner behind Devon Corporation and saw a pair of human boys—maybe secondary school age, he wasn't sure—beating something on the ground. They were laughing too, although it wasn't out of happiness.

"Wait!" The tall one with red hair turned to his friend as he checked his watch. "We have to get going! Mom expected us home fifteen minutes ago!"

"Shoot!" the other one said, and they both took off down the path, passing Dominic. He turned to the bush and crept over, smelling it. There was blood, blood and some scent he wasn't sure of. He peeled away the leaves and saw a tiny Skitty trembling on the dirt. She was covered in bruises and mud and blood and she was very obviously dying. He tried to pick her up but she shied away from his claws, weak as she was.

"N…No," she whispered, her voice raspy. "I'll be…I'll be fine…" Her eyes fell shut, and seconds later her small chest stopped moving. She smelled like blood, which he knew, but…she smelled like a mother too, the other scent. Dominic crouched down and dug a small hole in the ground, placing the Skitty inside and covering her up, then he marked the spot with a ring of pebbles and closed his eyes, giving her a moment of silence. When he opened them, he saw Reyes was still busy with his call. From the severity of the conversation, he would be held up for another few minutes. That was good.

He found her cubs, also, a few feet away. A bush mostly concealed them, two Skitty and a newborn Azurill, whose skin was greyish from sickness. They weren't dead, but they were malnourished and ill from the elements—nature wouldn't be lenient with them for that, so he spared them by causing them to bleed out. He buried them next to their mother, and although he didn't believe in any sort of afterlife, he imagined there was one for their sakes. As an afterthought, he added baby carrots. He could've put pomegranate seeds, but where they were going…maybe Arceus liked carrots.

The redhead's name was Kenny and his friend's name was Harris. They were at Kenny's house playing some video game. Harris was winning and Kenny didn't like it. Kenny's home was an apartment near Devon Corp. and was clean and organized, except for his room. He and Harris went to the local middle school and liked video games, Bronzor Bomb ice cream, and playing around with stray Pokémon.

"Hey, did you hear something?" Kenny asked.

"Stop trying to distract me."

"No, I'm serious. It sounded like someone else is home."

"Nah, it's just your Mom in the kitchen."

"You're right…but you're still not winning this game." Harris yelled triumphantly as their game ended.

"I already did, loser!"

"I hate this game anyway," he complained, throwing his controller at Harris.

"It's your favorite game. Quit being a sore loser."

"I'm not… Mom, is dinner ready?" he called. He looked confused when he didn't get an answer. "Mom?"

"She probably got her headphones in again," Harris muttered. "Tell her our music is for _us_, not _her_."

"Why don't you tell her, bastard?" Harris just snorted. Kenny made a face, then he looked towards the kitchen.

"That sound definitely wasn't Mom." The electricity went out, bathing them in darkness.

"This is creepy." Harris quickly moved to his feet and began backing towards the door. "I'm going ho—"

"Harris?" Kenny whispered, walking around blindly in the dark while Pokémon could see quite perfectly. Dominic created a Will-o'-Wisp, giving Kenny just enough light to see Harris' severed head in his claws. Kenny screamed in terror, slamming against the door but finding it jammed. His eyes bulged until they nearly popped out of his skull and he stumbled backwards, his back hitting the wall. Dominic squeezed Harris' head between his claws until his skull cracked. Kenny turned pale like he was going to die on the spot.

"P…Please… Is this…" He was crying, snot running out of his nose and everything, and he was urinating himself. "Is this…b…because of the stray? It was…we were playing…" Dominic pinched Kenny's nose with eyes shining through the gloom.

"Then you should've played a little smarter, bastard."

* * *

"Dominic, confess."

"Confess what?" Dominic only made it to the Pokémon Center two seconds ago and Reyes was already giving him a dreadful look.

"Whatever you did that got you covered in blood."

"Oh…" He looked at his fur, which was crusted with red. "Maybe I should've taken a shower?"

"Or maybe you should regrow whatever part of your brain you're missing. What did you _do?_"

"Ugugu… Some kids were messin' with a stray Pokémon."

"…And?"

"I…The King taught them never to do it again." He straightened his back but couldn't quite take the tremble from his voice. "And they won't."

Reyes stared at him for a couple of seconds with this not-very-suppressed rage in his eyes—like, he really looked a hair's breadth away from doing Dominic in on the spot. Then he sort of cursed-cursed—really cursed—like, Dominic wasn't even sure most of them were words. He grabbed Dominic's wrists in one hand and bound them with a thick coil of vines tight enough to leave bruises.

"Oi, I don't like dominants." He felt his mane getting pulled as Reyes tugged his ponytail's band free, then Reyes spun him around to shove it over his muzzle, clamping his mouth shut.

"Just shut up." That made Dominic shut up immediately. He looked Dominic in the eyes for a long time, genuinely scaring him. "I was an idiot for thinking any more of you," he finally muttered, then turned away and redialed his PokéNav.

_Okay…_ Dominic thought. _Reyes can be scary. Revolutionaries are scary too._


	4. 14 A Madman's Transgressions

**1.4. A Madman's Transgressions**

Reyes kicked away the disjointed thoughts Dominic spent ten minutes scratching in the dirt with his feet. "Don't be so damn creepy," he muttered before returning to his PokéNav. "What do you me—we've been here for five hours. You said it was going to be…what? Alakazam himself asked for…_this_ is why you all need _organization_. …We're in Rustboro now, and we're trying to meet with Alakazam in Ever Grande. …Slateport? It's possible, but…fine, fine, if it works for him." He hung up and replaced the device in his backpack.

"We hafta go to Slateport?"

"That's what Transportation said."

"I get seasick," he complained.

"Oh, shut up. We're taking a boat."

"I get seasick…"

"Wow, you really think I care about your problems."

"Why can't we take a plane to Ever Grande?" he whined.

"We can't use just _any_ sort of transportation, because then rebels could easily find their way into the city. We have a specialized defense system that naturally keeps them out, but if they're led inside by a revolutionary, we can't do anything to stop them." He refitted the ring over Dominic's mouth, sealing it shut, and pulled him to his feet.

"Mmmffmfm." He made an illusion of fried fish.

"You're hungry?" Dominic nodded. "You better learn photosynthesis, because I'm not taking that off." He whined and made an illusion of skull and crossbones. "You won't _die_. Don't be so goddamn overdramatic."

Reyes visited a Pokémart briefly and picked up several Full Restores and Burn Heals, making a face when Dominic tried to pick up a bag of barbecued chips. "Mmffmmfmm," he complained when Reyes threw it back.

"Those aren't even healthy. They're full of artificial crap."

_Do I look like I care?_ Dominic wanted to say. Reyes brought the items up to the counter and paid the cashier for them. Dominic looked at him, confused. "Mmffmm?"

"What?" Dominic took a bottle of water and shrugged, gesturing to the door. Reyes took the bottle back, irritated. "Thievery is frowned upon over here, Dominic."

"Mm," Dominic shrugged. Reyes looked at him a long time before he just gave up—amazingly, that hurt Dominic more than his words. He made a couple extra calls before leading Dominic out of the city, down the path to the Petalburg Woods. He saw the cluster of trees long before they reached it, felt the grass become unrulier beneath his feet, and started to get that memory itch—the bad kind too.

_I used to be with Lamont here, _he thought. _Before I killed him. _His shoulders slumped at the memory.

"Don't cause any trouble. The woods are a revolutionary area," Reyes said as they crossed into the trees. The last he heard, it was still neutral. Wow, he had really been in Mauville a long time…how long exactly? God, what happened to his brain?

"Mmffmffmn."

"I can't understand you and I honestly don't care to. Your words just ruin my opinion of Pokémonkind."

He saw the little Pokémon of the woods like Weedle and Caterpie shy away at the sight of him, and the larger ones like Breloom and Mightyena growl and bristle as they passed by. He started growling too and Reyes punched his shoulder.

"Be _quiet_. If you growl at them then they'll be perfectly within their rights to attack you."

He felt something small hit his shoulder, then two more, then something that felt like a big rock ricocheted off his leg, knocking him onto his stomach. He flexed his arms, ripping apart Reyes' leaves, and pulled the ring from his muzzle, growling and snapping at the culprit Linoone. She darted around his legs quick as a whip and started biting him, slithering up his body and pulling away tufts of his fur and drawing blood. He started jumping around and slamming himself into tree trunks, unable to shake her, and so he waited until she climbed over his shoulder and looked into his eyes before biting his nose.

_You made a mistake there, darling._

She shrieked in pain and surprise as she fell away from him, landing on the soft grass in a furry heap. She was still screaming as she shook violently, her little claws digging scratches into the dirt and then her own skin as she tried to pull away the nonexistent Ekans. Dominic started laughing, then he shut up when the rest of the forest animals started growling at him too—even the Shroomish. Reyes grabbed his elbow and pulled him along, swearing under his breath the whole time.

"I swear, Dominic."

"Yeah, yer doing a lot of swearin', I've noticed." His voice was annoyingly nasal from the blood filling his nostrils. He drew a handkerchief from his mane and cleared it out. "They started the fight and you saw it!"

"It didn't mean you had to retaliate." At that, Dominic pulled from Reyes' grip, staggering a little before he stopped at the woods' entrance sign.

"What, did you expect me to be the bigger Pokémon? Let it all go? Water under the bridge? Anybody who crosses the King gets what they're asking for."

"It's ridiculous and I know it, but what can you do? As I've said, you're a rebel in revolutionaries' territory. More than being a rebel, you're so easily outnumbered."

"So Alakazam's special summons or whatever you want to call it means some fucking shit to these guys, huh."

"Yes, it means he cares enough about an _enemy_ to come out of his self-imposed meditation."

"Ugugugu… I didn't ask fer him to give a damn about me. I'm perfectly fine bein' the only one who gives a damn 'bout Dominic."

"The point is he _does_, for _whatever_ reason. And you and I both have to deal with it our ways."

"I don't _deal_, I just kill whatever bothers me."

"Well that won't work here and especially around me." Dominic and his ass already had a pretty good idea of that rule. "You see, I've already lost too many comrades during your guys' attacks, and so I won't take losing any now, especially for asinine reasons, _King_."

"Well that won't work here and especially around me," he mocked. He moved closer and shoved Reyes backwards by the chest. "You see, I had a place to be, but guess what? Shit hit the fan. I had to leave, and next time we met we were on opposite sides of the revolution."

"Dominic." Reyes' tone was cautionary, his eyes blazing. Dominic smirked.

"You and I, we had different upbringings. I'm guessing you were born in a cozy Pokémon Laboratory and coddled in some nursery or incubator until a snot-nosed ten-year-old decided to make you his bitch for the rest of your life. Some of us weren't so _lucky._" He punctuated the word with a sneer. "Some of us grew up without a family, unable to take any love."

"Maybe my upbringing wasn't nearly as emotional as yours," Reyes' face was bland, brow raised, "but these last seven years were adequately soul-crushing. In the beginning, humans were hard to protect. They couldn't believe some of us were still good, that some of us were still human inside. We were shot at, burned, frozen, poisoned, attacked, _killed_," he added with a look that could cut steel. "And it took an entire year of it all for them to realize that while you rebels were trying to kill them, us revolutionaries still have _hearts_." He grimaced at his own words.

"What?"

"In our…line of work…be it rebel or revolutionary, you can't afford to care."

"But obviously, you care very much." Reyes sighed, not denying it but keeping his hard look. "And you care about me, too. I know I'm annoying and Pokémon can't stand me, but you still stayed with me. You really like being a revolutionary that much?"

"_No,_ I don't. I could've been the leader of the free world, but if it meant being with you, I'd have sooner taken suicide."

"No offense taken."

"But," he added, crossing his arms over his chest, "it'd be a terrible thing on my conscious to kill a child." He turned away. "I've already seen that happen more times than I enjoy."

"That's your only reason?"

"Yes, because killing you would also mean putting some use to your body through natural decomposition and therefore make you infinitely more useful than you are now."

"…Anyway," Dominic pushed the topic of conversation to less aggravating waters, "where's the person that's gonna give us a ride?"

Reyes looked past him and down the route. At the end of it, to the opposite way of the city, was a pier and boathouse with a little Flying-type circling it. Reyes put his fingers in his mouth and set out a shrieking whistle. The bird halted and looked at them before flapping over. "Reyes!" the Wingull said excitedly, plowing into his chest. She smelled like a she.

"Good afternoon, Peeko." Reyes politely pushed her away. _Reyes has a fangirl?_

"This is the king of the rebels?" She flapped around him excitedly, amazingly annoying for something so tiny. "He looks so nonthreatening…and he's so young too!" Dominic snorted.

"Where's Mr. Briney?" Reyes asked. Peeko calmed down, landing on his outstretched arm.

"He's on a trip to see some family. Why?"

"We needed him to give us a ride to Slateport."

"Oh, you can just use his boat! He knows you already, so it's fine!"

"Really? His boat is his life… I'd hate to borrow his property like that."

"He trusts you," Peeko said. "But the, ah, King…"

"You can trust me to keep an eye on Dom…the King. He wouldn't wreck Mr. Briney's boat unless it actually spoke to him."

"Ouch, jeez, my soul," Dominic said.

"It should only take until evening, then I'll find a revolutionary to return it," Reyes told Peeko.

"No problem!" Peeko led them to Mr. Briney's boat, a small thing painted white and run by a shiny-looking motor. Reyes tossed his backpack at Dominic, who caught it with a grimace, and dropped onto the bench in front of the motor, starting it with a low buzz. Dominic groaned, sliding on the other bench, and Peeko waved a wing at them as they started across the water. He leaned over the bow, amazed at the crystal blue color of it all and by how far it seemed to stretch. More so, the Water-types that skipped and jumped and swam through it, the Magikarp and Goldeen and Feebas just within reach of his claws, and the Swellow and Swablu and Noctowl that soared over the water's surface.

"Cool…" He let out a little surprised noise when he dipped his claws in the water. It was cold but not uncomfortably so, and it sliced around his claws to form glittering facets of foam. He felt like he hadn't seen it in a long time, and maybe he hadn't. "So cool…" He felt Reyes' gaze on him, but it wasn't as antagonistic as before.

"You like the water?"

"Yeah! Can't swim though, but it's real pretty to look at on days like this." He also had the sense that many good memories of the ocean existed in his mind, but his memory wasn't the best most days. Even so, his heart felt a lot lighter with his arms drifting through the water. "Don't you?" Reyes suddenly went silent, but it wasn't an angry silence. His claws caught on something solid and he dragged out an empty Shellder's shell. He drained it before holding it to his ear, and gentle moans greeted him. "I hear the ocean! Hey, Reyes, this is really cool—ya wanna try?" He twisted around to hand it over, a wide grin on his face, but Reyes wasn't waiting for it. He was staring at Dominic while lost in his thoughts. Dominic slipped the shell into his mane and moved closer to Reyes, but he was well and truly distracted. Grinning, he went to pinch Reyes nose. "Earth to Reyes, yoo-hoo."

To his utter shock, Reyes only made a face and batted his claws away. "Stop that."

"_Stop that?_" he repeated with wide eyes. "I don't get a death threat, no passive-aggression, no nothing…?" Reyes turned his head away, and he looked older than he was. "Hey, Reyes…?" He didn't respond, his eyes focused on the water. The silence made Dominic fidget uncomfortably and he too looked at the water. "Sorry if that annoyed ya or somethin'…"

"Lilly."

"What?" He looked back at Reyes.

"You said, with all the questions I've asked you, I've never told you anything about myself, and so I'm telling you I have a mate named Lilly."

"Oh, wow." _A mate? Him?_ Dominic thought. _This guy might really be Romeo._ "She a Sceptile too?"

He shook his head. "She's a Lapras, the most beautiful one to ever grace Hoenn's waters."

"You two crazy lovers had kids?"

"…A daughter," he answered after an unusual pause. "She was beautiful like her mother, but much too smart, like me. It made her so hard to keep an eye on."

Dominic realized what was wrong with his story. "Was?"

"She died two years ago."

"Huh. Well." Dominic rested his head on the ship's edge, swirling his claws around in the water. "And your mate?"

"No idea what became of her." Still, he was looking at the water.

"Hmm." Reyes had a loving family from the sound of it, and Dominic hadn't been loved in a long time, so he couldn't relate. He let his claws hover in the water until a small Magikarp swam around them, intrigued. He waited until it bit down before raising his arm, pulling it from the water and dropping it inside of the boat.

"Put it back," Reyes said almost immediately, still not looking.

"Stupid—how did you see that?"

"I can sense your idiocy now." Dominic snorted through his nose as he kicked the Magikarp away. It fell back into the water with a loud _plunk_. For some weird reason, he felt shame at being chastised.

"How come you're not looking for her?"

"Because even when we were together, I was a revolutionary. She knows my job is to protect the people and the Pokémon, that I just don't have time to search the world, but also not a day goes by I don't think about her and how much I love her." He closed his eyes for a moment before sighing again. "But you don't understand all that, do you?"

"No, I really don't, but…"

"But what?"

Dominic leaned his back against the stern, looking back at Reyes. "I wanna." They were silent as the boat buzzed along. Dominic watched the sun move across the sky, feeling his energy level increase fractionally as it began to set. "How much farther?"

"Look." Dominic tore his eyes away from the sky and saw a large waterside city looming on the horizon. He'd never seen Slateport before, but he heard of its bustling market, and even from his distance he could smell the people over there—god, _people._ "Get from the edge," Reyes warned when Dominic leaned over the front. He pulled away as Reyes slowed to a stop at one of the empty piers. There were about fifteen other piers with medium to large trading ships parked there, and that side of the dock ended in a blurred boundary towards the people's beach. Reyes shut off the motor and tied the boat to one of the pier's stumps as Dominic walked onto the sand, getting the curious feeling of it sinking under his claws. He noticed colorful glints beneath the sand and dug out a huge clump of red, green, and purple sea glass.

"This is so cool," he said, saving them within his mane. Reyes looked on curiously.

"You keep everything in there?"

"Not everythin', jus' nice things." He found another armful, this time gold and tan brown, and leapt to his feet to show them off. "Ya know sea glass comes from broken bottles that end up in the ocean? Weathered by the salt and waves until they turn round and frosted like this. They're sea glass, and the ones from freshwater lakes are beach glass—not as frosty and clean cuz the water's calmer." Reyes looked like he wanted to shrug him off at first, then raised a brow.

"You know a lot about this." Dominic's excitement washed away with the next tide. The sea glass tumbled back to the sand as his arms went limp.

"I do, don't I…?" He was stunned at first, then he clenched his fists and his mane stood on end. Reyes raised his arms automatically, but Dominic's anger was directed inwards at that damned other part of himself. "Pointless," he muttered, and calmed down with a deep breath. Reyes looked at him oddly, still in a defensive stance. "I'm not gonna hurt ya." Dominic waved off the notion and didn't even wait for Reyes to relax. He looked on and saw, further down the sand, beachgoers with their colorful blankets and umbrellas and little children and little Pokémon. He bristled and Reyes put a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to keep moving, Dominic."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, following Reyes past the people and their Pokémon. At one point, a Frisbee collided with his head before falling to the ground. He picked it up and saw a little auburn-haired girl and her Mudkip run up to him.

"Fwisbee?" she asked, sticking her hands out. Dominic passed it back to her and she gave him a lopsided smile before taking off.

"Why wasn't she scared of me?" Dominic asked Reyes.

"Little kids can't really understand what they see on the news."

"How come? Are they stupid?"

"Human children are different from hatchlings and cubs, Dominic."

"Stupider, apparently." Dominic passed by the stupid humans to the tiled steps leading up to the paved ground of Slateport. There, he was assaulted by a barrage of sights and sounds and smells. The marketplace was filled with booths of all colors and kinds selling everything imaginable. He could smell chocolate and fried fish and silk and fake gold and sweet potato stew and grass whistles and backscratchers and cheap cellphones and even awesomeness if that was possible. His ears fell flat against his head and he was stone still for the better part of three seconds.

"Dominic, don't even—"

He took off, dropping onto all fours to sniff a batch of flowers originating from a Floaroma Town booth and then snatching Barboach from a barbecue grill and then chewing on some sugar cane and then tearing up a cluster of fancy hand-woven dresses hanging on racks and skidding around the legs of excited tourists and digging up buried treasures and stealing Revival Herbs and—

"Lassie, calm down already!" Reyes grabbed Dominic's ponytail and pulled him back. He was sweaty and breathless from trying to keep up. "Shit, do you have an _off_ switch?"

"No!" he whined, stretching his claws towards the market he was being pulled away from. "I wanna explore some more."

"I think you've had enough for the day." He gestured to the mess Dominic made of the booths. Vendors were collecting or trashing their wares and tourists were in heaps on the ground. "You're like a tornado. What kind of creature made you?"

"A nice one," Dominic answered. "A cool one. Like me."

"In what universe are you nice?"

"Mines!"

He snorted through his nose, pulling Dominic away from the market and to the boating museum. He checked his PokéNav and sighed in relief. "There should be a boat coming within the hour. Can you not destroy anything until then?"

"Gee, that's a lot to ask." Dominic started sniffing the air again, turning to the water. "The sea smells real salty."

"Really?" Reyes elbowed him hard. "And I hate to leave you alone, but I have to help those vendors clean up, and I don't think you'd be quite welcome." But Dominic wasn't listening. He padded over to the pier, smelling the water closely. He dropped to his stomach, feeling the pier's damp wood grate against his belly. He still wanted to explore…jeez, Reyes was such a stiff-necked bastard.

"Seriously, if I want to have fun, why would he stop me? Reyes isn't my dad…" He got to his feet and started creeping around the boat museum. He noticed three workers and a Machamp carrying a big old boat's skeleton inside, swearing and struggling at its weight. The hull was mostly skinned, but it was made of rusted iron and had a name printed on the side that was faded with age, but it seemed familiar.

"Al…Alas…" He couldn't read English very well, but he had a feeling he remembered it. "A list… A… Ali Stuart—Boat Ali Stuart." Ali Stuart's boat? Who was that again? Goddamn it, his time in Mauville really messed with his—

_"__We know who that is. Well, _I_ know."_

Dominic growled and pulled his ears until pain radiated through his skull. _No! My mind. My mind and my memories. Stop takin' from me._

_"__I never take unless you offer. You don't want to remember, so I hold the memories for you—I'm what keeps Dominic as Dominic. I keep you _sane,_ and for that, I only ask for the reins once in a while, like now…"_

He looked back at the marketplace, which was getting back into its earlier swing, and clenched his claws. Damn humans. Why did he have to let them be? Pokémon were doing just fine before them and would do even better without them. He cupped his claws around his mouth before releasing a powerful Flamethrower. The flames lit the booths like dry wheat struck by lightning, sending the pitiful humans scattering and the Water-types running.

"Dominic!" He could literally smell Reyes coming, and he was tired of Reyes too, all pro-human and pro-life and pro-pro-pro—damn him and his pro-ness. His fur bristled, and when Reyes came within distance he lashed out and sliced his right arm away. It fell to the ground like a twig, chlorophyll dripping from the wound he left.

"The King." He shook his claws clean. "I am _the King_."

Reyes opened his pods to the sunlight, taking his arm up and pressing it to his stump. Vines grew from the point of contact like stitches, linking it together. He didn't open his mouth once, but his eyes spoke volumes. Behind him, the market was still burning, the blaze getting bigger despite the Pokémon trying to put it out, people burning too. It was chaos at its best, and if there was one thing the King loved, it was mass, uncontrollable, mortal chaos.


	5. 141 Dominic, Part I

**1.4.1. Dominic, Part I**

The water was like something from Hell, black and boiling and looking to drag anyone and everyone to an eternal death. It slapped and slammed against Ali's boat, tossing it from side to side and knocking away cargo each time. Soon enough, there would be bodies instead of just boxes, and Michaela knew it. She huddled protectively around her cub as Ali paced around in the cabin, hands working his long brown hair into a frenzy. Eventually he went out, slamming the door shut behind him. Michaela stood up, peering through the cabin's porthole. The storm was unrelenting, still battering the ship so badly she could almost see it coming apart, and it wouldn't be long before it completely shattered.

"Oh, Rex," she murmured to her cub, who was tossing and turning in his bed. The sounds outside were making him uncomfortable, and for good reason. She went over to him and nuzzled his cheek with her nose. He mewed softly and calmed, sleeping more peacefully. She rested her claws on his forehead and stayed with him for a few moments, reveling in the soft but persistent sound of his heartbeat, but was instantly on-edge as she heard a loud crack coming from the stern. She went to the door and peered through the window, finding Ali stumbling backwards from someone or something that wasn't there before. She wanted to go help him—he _was_ her owner, the one who raised her and Dominic from cubs—but her son…

"Augh!" Ali stumbled away, shocked, as his pained scream filled the air. Not even a second later, the ship shrieked as it was split right down the middle. The cabin's walls tore away as the ship's innards became visible. Ali's furniture and cargo dropped into the deadly sea as the two halves came apart. The world around them, it seemed, was falling to pieces. Michaela clung to Rex for dear life—it didn't matter at that point if she survived, he just had to. She felt the wood beneath her claws crumble, then she too fell into the water.

It was cold, ice-cold, despite how much like lava it appeared to be, and froze her limbs on contact. It was all she could do to secure Rex inside of her mane, keeping him warm and mostly dry, and use a piece of driftwood to keep afloat. She saw Ali swishing to and fro from within a lifeboat and started paddling towards him. He saw her and tried throwing a rope to her, but the water swallowed it almost immediately. She kicked harder, but the water only seemed to become more furious in response: for every foot forward she moved, it flung her back three. "Michaela! Rex!" he shouted over the sounds of the storm. She opened her mouth to speak, then her ears pricked up as she detected a different sound, one that was very close. She raised her head and looked over just as the tidal wave crashed down on them.

The water pulled both under in a heartbeat, shredding the remains of Ali's boat and lifeboat and separating them. Petrified, Michaela gripped Rex in her arms, keeping him against her chest, but she could see he was losing consciousness from lack of oxygen. She forced him to meet her eyes and created an illusion he was lying in a meadow on the sunny day—if his brain had that image, he wouldn't asphyxiate. She herself held her breath as she pushed to the surface, but almost immediately another wave smashed her back under, addling her mind. She searched for any sort of help but all the Water-types were gone, leaving her and Rex alone. She prayed again he would live even if she didn't and swam up again, only to have her lungs filled with saltwater and slam against a metal plate from the boat. Disoriented, she lost her grip on Rex, and the next wave sliced between them like a knife, pulling them apart.

* * *

Rex felt like a sopping mess. Moreover, he couldn't breathe since his lungs were filled with something other than air. He coughed, then he coughed some more, then he started coughing real hard, rolling onto his back in front of the fire—

—fire?

He wiped his sore eyes before cracking them open. He was lying in front of a brick fireplace, a fluffy pink towel draped over his fur. He couldn't smell any danger, just a lot of dirt and rocks. He coughed some more before crawling free, looking around. He was in someone's house, not like that guy's boat but a real house-house. There were framed photos and chairs and tables and the smell of delicious amazing wondrous food was in the air—and it wasn't fish! He raised his head, which was when he noticed a giant Steel Pokémon staring down at him.

He screamed and scrambled to the collection of logs for the fireplace, hiding beneath them. Tears built in his eyes as he tried to make himself as small as possible.

"Aggron, don't scare him," a male voice said as the logs parted. Rex skittered to the corner instead, burying his face in his neck fur. A human man came over and picked him up. Rex growled and kicked at him, ripping his sleeves with his little claws. "He's just a cub…" the man continued thoughtfully. He set Rex down on the table, softly touching behind his ear. The gesture calmed him and he sat down, physically and mentally exhausted. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly. "I found you on the shore, you and…a female Zoroark." Rex's ears went up—the man was talking about Michaela, he was sure. "Skarmory, keep an eye on him." He pointed to someone else before going into another room.

"Alright, Steven." Rex looked over and saw a Skarmory standing by the door preening his silver feathers. He yelped, alarmed, and stared sorrowfully at the long drop from the table to the ground. "Oh, calm down," he chastised. "Babies."

"You were once a child too, Skarmory. You ought to have more patience for them," Aggron said in his rough and grating voice. Skarmory huffed with a decisive chirrup.

"Well I don't. I don't think he even understands what we're saying. He was probably still nursing." Aggron reached out towards Rex, who moved away, bristling and trying to make himself look bigger. He backed off and Rex slumped down nearly instantly, too exhausted to keep up the front. Still, everything about his body language screamed on-edge, not that Aggron blamed him.

"He's not _that_ young, but he _is_ defenseless. I don't believe he even knows any moves yet."

"And how did a Zorua end up in Hoenn anyway?"

"No idea… Steven said there was boat shrapnel around them, so maybe they were on a ride and the storm hit them. Whatever the reason, he's alone now."

Steven returned with a small cup of warmed soup, placing it on the table with Rex. He shied away from it at first, then his hunger prevailed and he shoved his nose in, drinking excitedly. While he did so, a Claydol drifted through the door. "Did you bury her?" Steven asked it. It nodded in response. He sighed, watching Rex finish the soup and roll on his side. Steven rubbed his knuckles against Rex's cheek and he mewed softly. "It's sad… He's only a cub and he's already lost his family. Person or Pokémon, nobody should have to live like that."

"He's right," Aggron said to Skarmory, who scowled and rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell me Steven's going to take in the fur-ball. We're already at capacity here with all his rocks."

"Don't be so mean, Skarmory. Have a bit of compassion."

"I'm not mean, I'm logical. What's he good for anyway? He's a cub: it'll take at least five years for him to be battle-ready."

"Not everything is about battling." Aggron scratched Rex's stomach with an odd type of gentleness contrasting his appearance. His claws tickled somewhat, making Rex giggle. "Don't tell me you don't find him a _little_ cute." He snorted, fluffing his feathers in irritation.

"For a Steel-type, you're a damn softie." Aggron smirked, picking Rex up gently to hold him in Skarmory's face. "Ugh, move him. He smells gross," he complained, backing away.

"Skarmory." Aggron's grin widened. Skarmory grunted, annoyed, and gave Rex a little nudge in the stomach with his beak. Astounded, Rex held Skarmory's beak with his little paws and gave him a curious lick. Aggron and Steven laughed as Skarmory pulled away, embarrassed. "He likes you."

"Like I care," he muttered, touching his beak in silent awe. Steven took Rex from Aggron's grip and set him down on a small makeshift bed made of a fluffy pillow and a large wicker basket. He picked at it with his claws until it was marred with streaks and the feathers were everywhere, then he curled up on it, tired. Steven laughed a little, returning his Pokémon before going into another room.

"Come on, I think he's had enough excitement for the day." Meanwhile, Rex began to dream…

* * *

While Ali stood in the hallway speaking with Nurse Joy, the two Zoroark remained in the examination room. Dominic was working trenches into the blue and green-speckled tiles, he was pacing so furiously, and Michaela was getting sick of it. "Oh, would you stop already? You're making me dizzy."

He gasped, coming to an immediate stop and turning to her. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't—I don't know how it would affect—god, I wish I still had instincts—Ela, I—oh god oh god—"

"Now you're making my ears dizzy." Dominic groaned, his ears drooping.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it! This is—this is a surprise, to say the least."

"It shouldn't be, you beast." She gave him a coy smirk, causing him to look away with an embarrassed whine.

"I wish you weren't so blunt, Ela."

"I wish you weren't so prude, Dom." She slid off the examination table and grasped his forearms, licking his cheek. "You're going to be a daddy."

"And you'll be a momma." He pressed his nose to hers, a giddy smile on his face. "Gee, I wonder if he's gonna be like me."

"Then he'd be a total pain." Her grin widened. "And why a boy? Why can't our cub be a girl?" He groaned.

"Because then she would be like you, so beautiful and so perfect, and there'd be hell to pay during mating season."

"No worries. You'll scare every potential mate away."

"Damn right."

She laughed, biting his ear softly. "You're so cute." He wrapped his arms around her in response, nuzzling her neck.

"Wow, what will we name him? Alex? Frank? Billy? Oh, oh, what about Dominic Jr.?" She laughed.

"Jessica? Marisol? Hadley?"

"Those are weird boy names."

"I told you, Dom, it could be a girl too."

"I wanna boy…" She smirked.

"Don't worry, if it's a girl, we just try again." His face instantly lit up, then a devilish grin crossed it. Ali and Nurse Joy came back in. Nurse Joy smiled.

"They're so cute."

"Yeah, unless you clean up after them," Ali said under his breath. Dominic grinned at him.

"Ali," Nurse Joy set a hand on his shoulder, "most Pokémon-owners don't keep more than two. If you want to give the cub for adoption, I have some suggest—" Dominic cut her off, growling and snarling with his fur bristling.

"Dom—" Michaela tried, but he wouldn't stop.

"I don't think Dominic would like that." Ali gave a laugh and shrugged. "I'll keep their cub. I don't have any problem with another Zoroark in the house, really." Dominic's mood did an instant one-eighty.

"This will be great!" Michaela laughed, even more elated, as she held her stomach.

* * *

"Aggron, take the brat." Skarmory glowered as Rex pawed his talons. Every time he moved away Rex followed him, putting little scratches in his steel exterior.

"I don't believe I'll be surprised if you're still stag in the coming future, what with how unpleasantly you play the role of family man." Metagross planted itself in the grass to watch Steven battle a pair of newbie Trainers. The park was expansive but quiet considering the rest of the Elite Four were in the city doing a presentation on becoming a Trainer, so Steven and his Pokémon were practically alone with all the green grass and trees and the little blue pond.

"Shut up. Nobody asked for your input." Skarmory kicked Rex away, not hard at all but forcefully enough that he flopped onto his back into a mud puddle. Rex immediately began whining loudly, licking his fur in exasperation. Aggron sighed, picking Rex up and placing him on his large head. Rex touched his horns, amazed, and barked excitedly.

"He's still a cub, Skarmory. Cut him some slack, will you? Why don't you take him for a fly?"

"_Me?_" He squawked, appalled. "Do I look like an airplane to you?"

"Steven still hasn't gotten rid of him after a week, so assume he's here to stay and you'll be Daddy Skarmory for a long while to come." He picked Rex up and set him on Skarmory's back. "Which also makes you an airplane."

"But—"

"Come on, Skarmory," Metagross said. Skarmory groaned, pecking at his feathers. "Da-ddy, Da-ddy," it continued in a chant.

"N-O no."

Rex barked. "D…Daddy!" Skarmory's feathers ruffled.

"I'm not your dad!"

"Aww, he talked." Aggron laughed.

"And he thinks Skarmory's his dad," Metagross said, it and Aggron sharing a good laugh at Skarmory's expense.

"Shut up, both of you!" Forgetting Rex was on his back, he took off, going straight up into the sky. Rex's claws weren't strong enough to keep a grip and he tumbled off Skarmory's back and started cartwheeling through the air. Aggron raced forward, Metagross attempting to grab him psychically.

"He's a Dark-type, I can't get a hold!" it shouted.

"I'm not fast enough!" Aggron yelled as Rex grew closer to the ground. From his angle of descent, he was going to hit the pavement near the playground. Skarmory wheeled around and, spotting Rex, folded his wings back for a dive, but even he wouldn't be fast enough. Steven ended his battle and shook the children's hands, turning in time to see Rex's little body collide with the pavement. He and his Pokémon raced over, finding him shrouded in a small bubble of translucent blue energy—Protect. When that faded, his left hind leg was sticking out at a strange angle and a pool of bright red blood was steadily building beneath him.

* * *

"Michaela…" Ali said as a small whine filled the room. Michaela raised her head sleepily when he laid her cub next to her. She smiled and rolled over, allowing him to stumble the three inches to her on his tiny paws to nurse. "Where's Dominic?" She shrugged a shoulder. He looked out of the window where a heavy storm had formed in Lilycove, thunder slamming down to rock buildings to their core and lightning skipping over the ocean's surface. "Oh, no," he said with a swear before grabbing his poncho and umbrella and racing through the door, slamming it behind him. Michaela stared after him worriedly.

"Dominic," she whispered, lowering her head to the wooden floor and letting a silent tear run down her face. As much as she wanted to look for Dominic as well, even though his scent would easily have been lost in the rain, she couldn't. Her newborn baby—_their_ newborn baby was there and needed her attention. Thinking about him, he'd just get mad if she left the little guy alone anyway. She smiled sadly at the thought, licking her cub's cheek. "You're a _he_," she said to him, nuzzling him with her nose. "Daddy will be proud to see you. If only I could think of a name…"

Ali returned a while later. The digital clock was out of sorts from a power surge, but it felt like hours had passed. He dropped the umbrella and poncho next to the doormat, kicking his rain boots aside and slumping down on the couch, head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Michaela." His voice was rough, damn near shredded to pieces against the cage of his teeth. "The neighbors said they saw him out on the shore—I guess he was trying to catch fish for you two to eat, instincts maybe. No matter how much they called him, he wouldn't come back in until he caught something, and you know how terrible his hunting skills are. He would've been out there all day, except… There were a lot of wild Pokémon out there, and it looked like the lightning and thunder…drove them crazy, although no one has any idea why. They found him, Dominic, and they…" His voice crackled a little as thunder rumbled very close by.

"Dominic…" She held her cub close, the living remnant of Dominic, and licked his face. He just wiggled his nose, not really understanding, and she wished she could enjoy his painlessness too, but she couldn't. Dominic was gone and it would always hurt, not just for her but for everybody who knew him. She felt a little tickle and realized her cub was licking her tears. She let out a small laugh, releasing him and staring back into his wide blue eyes. "I'm okay… I'm okay…"

Ali stood up, surreptitiously wiping his eyes on his coat's sleeve before turning to her, lifting her cub to examine him. "Rex," he decided. "If that's alright with you." It was alright with Michaela, and her cub stuck his little tongue out at Ali. He was adorable, and Michaela just hoped that he could live long enough to know how amazing he was.

* * *

"Have you seen Skarmory?" Metagross asked. Steven was using Claydol and Cradily to battle a rookie Trainer a few feet away. Rex was playing quietly in the children's sandbox, making little mountains and houses out of rocks before knocking them down. Bandages still ringed his head and leg since his stitches still tended to bleed every now and again, but otherwise he was fine.

"No, not since morning," Aggron answered, keeping an eye on Rex. Armaldo had joined him, creating mud and hardening it to make a tough castle, which Rex attempted to knock down.

"Where could he have gone?"

"Heck if I know… I'm not his keeper." Rex made one feeble attempt to tap pinchers with Armaldo before turning away in disinterest. He yawned and started kicking his houses over, stepping on his mountains and crushing them. "Why would you do that?" Rex didn't respond right away, but when Metagross offered an arm, he crawled up willingly, settling in the nook of its elbow. "Rex?"

"Castaway," Rex said before huddling into himself.

"What does that mean?" Metagross asked, but he got no response from the cub. "Hey, Aggron?" Aggron just shrugged. "I don't understand why he's been so peculiar since then. Nurse Joy said he didn't sustain any brain damage."

"Maybe it's got nothing to do with his brain, I don't know. Maybe he just started thinking."

"About what? He's three years old."

"He's smart for a three-year-old and you know it." Metagross looked towards Steven, watching him command his team as he had been doing for a long time before Rex. Not for the first time, it wondered Steven's plans with the little guy. It wouldn't mind keeping him around, as a companion or teammate, but for now, all something as small and fragile as he could manage was getting hurt.

"Now _you're _thinking," Aggron said, stepping closer. Rex peeked up at him before returning to his tight little ball. "Worried about the brat?"

"I'm more worried for whose spot he'll take," it said lightly. "Hopefully Skarmory's."

Rex started whining and squeezed his eyes shut in pain. Aggron tried to lift him but he refused to be touched, running away to the swing set. "What's wrong?"

"Wa'er." Aggron looked up and took note of the dark storm clouds gathering above them.

"He's right. It's about to rain."

"Isn't Skarmory still out there?" Metagross asked.

"He'll be fine. He won't rust from a little rain." Aggron looked up again as a drop of rain fell on his nose, then several more joined it. Steven looked up and told the Trainer to go home before returning Cradily and Claydol.

"What about—oh, there." He picked Rex up and he immediately began barking and growling, clawing at Steven's shirt and arms. "What's wrong?" Rex didn't respond, but he soon tired out and buried his face in Steven's lapels with a low, consistent whine. "Maybe I should take him back to the Pokémon Center…"

He didn't have time to consider it, however, as the rain immediately began pouring, lightning flashing in the sky and thunder rolling nearby. The sights and sounds made Rex sick to his stomach, although he couldn't tell why. Steven returned Aggron and Metagross and bundled Rex in his coat so he could run down the sidewalk, headed back to his house. It wasn't that long of a travel at all, but the rain made the ground slippery and reduced visibility to nearly zero. Somehow, he made it back, slamming the door shut behind him. He set Rex down on the table, his fur soaked through and hanging on him like a weight. He turned the heat up and went to the bathroom to change. Rex whined softly and shook his fur dry, then he tried to settle again. Steven returned to towel him off, then set him by the fireplace where he began to doze. The rain still bothered him, but he'd forgotten why. A peck on the window stirred him, then Steven's rapid footsteps heading to open the latch.

"Skarmory," he said with a frown. Skarmory flew through the window and landed on the ground, completely soaked and with a piece of paper in his beak. He set it down next to Rex before sitting next to the fireplace. Steven picked it up and unfolded it, staring at it with an odd expression. "This is…him?" he asked, setting the paper down. Skarmory nodded. "Where did you find this?" Skarmory turned in the direction of the beach. Steven raised his eyebrows. "You looked through the wreckage to find this for him? Really?"

"I'm making an effort," Skarmory muttered even though Steven couldn't understand him. Rex looked over at the paper. It was a photograph of two baby Zorua, one male and one female (although Steven surely couldn't tell the difference). They were rolling on the dirt wrestling each other. A man's legs were in the background, and with the person holding the camera that meant two—two humans. He started sniffing the photo but Steven picked it up, inspecting the back of it.

"'Dad, I'm sorry I couldn't become a Trainer like you, but I'm happier just being with Pokémon than battling with them—maybe I'll be breeder or something, I don't know.'" He was reading the writing on the back, writing that smelled sort of familiar. "'But I have two Zorua now: the female's from a nursery—I named her after Mom, God rest her soul—and the male is a stray. He's wild and funny and cunning and really the perfect match for little Michaela—maybe they'll pair up someday, who knows. I've named him Dominic. —Ali.'" Steven looked once more at Rex before setting the photograph on the fireplace's mantle.

"I guess that makes you Dominic," he said.

"Dominic," he repeated drowsily, absently shuffling closer to Skarmory's warming exterior. "Dominic…"


	6. 142 Dominic, Part II

**1.4.2. Dominic, Part II**

"Aggron, use Earthquake!" Aggron lifted his legs and stomped twice, shaking the earth so badly boulders were uprooted and chunks of it went flying. Dominic skittered up the nearest tree before launching himself from a branch, flying into the air to clear the attack. He landed on Aggron's head and started a furious attack of Crunch, creating dents and holes in his metal exterior. "Shake him off, then use Stone Edge!" Steven commanded.

"Sorry," Aggron grunted before he started bucking madly, tossing Dominic aside then lobbing several sharp stones at him. Dominic ran to the side to dodge the faster ones, leapt into the air to go over the slower ones, and kicked the ones he could back at Aggron. They had about as much of an effect as a feather on his body and he simply attacked again. This time, Dominic used Protect, shattering the stones into pebbles and dirt easily, before retaliating with Shadow Ball. Aggron made a surprised noise before grinning. "You've been practicing!" He planted his feet in the dirt and extended his arms to catch the Shadow Ball. With a grimace on his face, he smashed it into nothing but purple wisps of energy.

"Of course!" Dominic leered as a ball of rolling darkness formed ahead of him. He closed his eyes to focus it into a stable shape, then it exploded into waves of black energy. Aggron had a harder time dodging those. He then laughed, prancing around on the paved battleground triumphantly.

"What's wrong, Aggron? Quit holding back already!" Aggron chuckled, cracking his shoulders and knuckles.

"I miss when you were a child. You were much less cheeky!" He charged, digging up huge clods of sod and grass to Cradily's chagrin, and struck out with a claw. Dominic leapt over and ran up his arm, biting him on the softer tip of his nose. Aggron roared and spun around, whipping his tail as a counter. Dominic latched his teeth onto it, following its path into the air and then landing a few feet away. He grinned, digging beneath the earth to escape Aggron's view. He felt the tremors caused by his feet stomping around, searching for Dominic's scent, and lurched forward just as Aggron's claw came crashing down where his body was.

"Missed me!" Dominic sang, digging further beneath the earth. Aggron kept trying but Dominic was a little too fast for him. Dominic focused, creating numerous flames around himself, intensifying them until it was a maelstrom of fire building beneath the surface and released them. He felt Aggron hit the ground and waited a few seconds before jumping to the battleground. Incinerate had done a decent amount of damage to Aggron's armor, but he was far from finished. Dominic, on the other hand, was spent, which Aggron and Steven saw immediately.

"You're getting good, kid." Aggron dusted the grime from his armor. "You're almost good enough to make me get a little serious."

"Aw, quit playing with me, A," Dominic complained, chewing on his foot. Aggron picked him up and set him on his shoulder before slamming his tail into the ground. The dirt in a thirty-foot radius was instantly uprooted, creating a fifteen-foot deep crater all around them before it fell back down…after around six seconds anyway.

"Oh, I didn't hold back enough," he said, shrugging. Dominic just stared.

"That's…so freaking awesome, Aggron!" he cheered, sliding off his shoulder. Aggron caught him before he fell. "Amazing! Incredible! I wanna be as strong as you guys!" He chuckled and scratched Dominic's head.

"Not yet. You still need to grow some more, kid." Dominic, who was beginning to lean into the treatment, pulled away with bared teeth.

"I'm very well-grown!"

"No, you're still a brat."

"He's not even virile," Metagross joked, making Aggron and Cradily burst out with laughter.

"I-I'm virile! Whatever that means!" Dominic jumped to the ground and started gnawing on Metagross' leg, although his little teeth had no effect.

"Hey, that almost tickles." Dominic barked and started scratching, but it still didn't work. "This armor of mine can withstand everything short of a nuclear war, kid."

"Which hasn't been proven," Cradily pointed out.

"Be quiet. You didn't even manage evolution."

"I came back, didn't I?" he muttered petulantly.

"And if Steven hadn't found your Fossil, you'd still be a part of the Earth's history."

"Hey, yoo-hoo, we were talking about _me._" Dominic pouted when they continued their back-and-forth. He jumped on top of Cradily, catching Metagross' eyes, and put him into a daze. He wasn't going to do anything further with it, not that it mattered to his friends.

"Dominic. Don't do that to your friends." Steven snatched him by the scruff, earning an undignified yelp from him. "Pull him out." Metagross blinked a few times before shaking its head.

"Buzzkill," Dominic muttered as Steven released him to the ground. "I'm bored with him," he said to Aggron.

"With who? Metagross?"

"No, Steven!"

"Why would you be?" he asked, perplexed. "Steven is a good man, even though you're sort of a brat—no offense."

"None taken—I'm _impish_," he corrected with a devilish grin before turning away, fixing his neck fur. "And it's too boring staying here and just looking at his rock collection every day. I wanna go out and see what's in the world."

"You're still a little young for that, Dominic."

"In the wild, I'd practically be an adult."

Cradily scoffed, which Dominic had the grace to let slide…for now. Aggron frowned.

"Nothing's wrong with being owned by a Trainer."

"I didn't say that, I just said it's boring staying here and shuffling rocks. They all look the same, what exactly is he collecting?" He snorted and sat on the dirt by Steven's feet, earning a curious look.

"You don't want to battle anymore?" Dominic turned his head away at the question. Steven knelt and bonked him lightly on the head. "You have a power you think is handy—that doesn't mean you can go around misusing it. You don't see Metagross or Claydol doing so. Keep that up and you'll end up a supervillain."

"There he goes putting ideas in that little brain of his." Skarmory sighed as Dominic looked on dreamily. Steven hit him again, regaining his attention.

"Be smart about your illusions, Dominic." He stood and gestured for Cradily and Metagross to follow him back to the battlefield. When he left, Aggron crouched to level himself more with Dominic's height.

"Don't be in a hurry to grow up. Trust me, it's better to be young and happy."

"Ew, that's what old people say." He only chuckled.

"You'll see soon enough."

"Aggron, don't taint his youth," Skarmory said to him. "Besides, his brain is so small he won't remember any of this to adulthood."

"I'm smarter than you, birdbrain!" Dominic yelled. Skarmory squawked, appalled.

"Is that a challenge?"

"I'm not inviting you to dinner!"

"If that's how you learn your lessons, then fine!" Skarmory's wings glowed as he swiped at Dominic. He hopped out of the way, skidding slightly on the dirt ground. Skarmory was faster than Aggron: his regular Speed still wasn't much, but his attacking speed was something to be cautious of. In a heartbeat, he recovered from his Steel Wing and snapped his beak, clamping down on the tip of Dominic's ear. Luckily, he only got a tuft of fur, otherwise that would've been a bloody nightmare.

"This is what I'm talking about!" He chomped on Skarmory's leg, causing him to stumble, and then he used Fury Swipes on Skarmory's torso, tearing large streaks in his metal armor. Skarmory screeched and flapped to his feet, kicking out at Dominic and sending him rolling in a furry ball across the dirt. He came to a stop after bowling into a large rock. "Uwah," he sobbed, rubbing his head in pain.

"Oh, did I really hurt you?" Skarmory moved closer with wide eyes. Dominic shot him a cruel grin as dark energy coiled around.

"No, I'm just that good!" He struck at Skarmory's chest, creating deeper scores in his armor, before completely ramming him, knocking him to the ground with wings outspread. Dominic started tearing at his wings too, pulling chips from his feathers until they started to look awfully sorry. Skarmory rolled to his feet and blew Dominic off with Gust, sending him skidding, and launched himself in the sky, although he wasn't nearly as fast as before. He did an impressive loop-de-loop before coming back down, the air cutting around him like blades, and then he pulled to a complete stop, letting them slice down to the ground. Dominic growled and focused, bringing his energy up to form a shield. It deflected his Air Cutter well enough but left him drained.

Skarmory came back down in a flurry, swooping low to the ground to gain speed before zooming over Dominic like a jet plane. He used his talons to grab Dominic, then whirled around in the air to crash him down into the ground. He rolled back to his feet, disoriented and dizzy, and watched Skarmory come back around again. Even though he was still terribly novice with dark energy, he opened his mouth and fired a wobbly-looking Shadow Ball. It bounced off Skarmory's armor like a water balloon and didn't stop him at all from tearing away the ground from under Dominic's paws with his speed, throwing him back a dozen feet and causing him to hit his head another time.

"I gotta…gotta…" He felt smashed and he shook and staggered like he had four left paws. "Gotta…beat… I gotta beat that brainbird, 'mean, I mean…" Skarmory was coming back one more time, but since when were there four of him? He opened his mouth again but could barely pull enough dark energy to form anything cohesive as Skarmory hit him directly with his talons, grabbing him and pulling him high into the air, high enough that he could feel the moisture up there make his fur soggy. He saw the ground swell up to them like bread in the oven—Steven took him to a bakery once, and he saw bread baking—except it wasn't bread, it was dirt—but bread dough looked a little like dirt—and it was really going to hurt—hmm bread—his head was aching, shit—good little Zorua, gotta be good, no illusions, no supervillain—

_It can be so sad being so dark inside without any chance of ever walking in the light._

Both crashed to the ground, except Dominic wasn't burning from hellfire like Skarmory was. He instantly became alert as he started running around Skarmory's flaming body, listening to his pained screeches and watching the black energy eat away at his steel exterior and create a steady stream of silver blood. He saw Steven and his other Pokémon rush over, alarmed, and knew it would just go straight back to him. He was the one who did it, so he did deserve the blame, but that didn't mean he liked it. He was traumatized, scared, riled up, but not guilty—nope, everything but guilty. Why couldn't he be guilty?

* * *

Hellfire was impossible to douse, he soon learned. Just as rare as it was to appear, so was the only substance that could extinguish it. Needless to say, Skarmory didn't have a pleasant end, not that Dominic really hung around to see it. He just sort of found a corner…somewhere…and stayed there, even as the sun set and night rose like a blanket. Well, the dark never bothered him anyway.

Steven gave him a home, and he repaid it by killing one of his teammates, one of his friends. He may have been too young to understand a lot, but perhaps it was good he understood death so well. Those were the makings of a great supervillain. He grimaced as it started to rain, and sadly he was lying under a gutter—water sloshed down the pipe and poured directly over him, turning him into a wet mutt. He crawled from under the flow and shook himself partly dry before moving into the heat of a trash fire alongside a few other homeless. He settled himself next to a man bundled in cargos and a worn leather jacket under a larger hoodie and closed his eyes, then he felt the man gently stroking along his spine. "Hey, little guy," the man said. "Man, you remind me of my old Pichu—she used to love when I scratched her back like…"

He purred and arched into the man's hand. He felt a pleasant tingle building on the surface of his skin and tried cute-ing the man into scratching a little harder, but the tingling sensation quickly became bothersome, then irritating, then it felt as if little needles were pricking into his skin. He mewled in disagreement and crawled away from the man, shaking himself unsuccessfully. He couldn't get rid of that weird feeling, and it really pained him after having to see Skarmory die. After a while, he started to doze, and after that, daydream.

"You're sort of pathetic, you know?" he said, crouching down so Dominic could look him in the eyes. He squinted at the Zoroark in confusion.

"Who's 't?"

"I'm sorry, that's mean of me," he said, ignoring Dominic's question. "I'm just used to speaking my mind."

"I don't understand…"

"Don't worry, you can live without understanding. It's just a little harder to choke down that way."

"I still don't understand…"

"You'll be fine, but that's more to say about the rest of the city." He looked over his shoulder just as a crash sounded from a few streets down, then a police siren filled the air, followed by a store's klaxon, then gunshots. "Things are wild right now, both here and up." He pointed his claw to the sky. "You know, up there with the big guys."

"The Legendaries are…heroes," Dominic said, raising his head. The Zoroark made a displeased sound.

"Never call anybody your hero, Rex."

"Rex? I'm…Dominic…"

"Dominic?" He cracked a smile, which grew into a full-blown grin. "Really? That's what you call yourself?"

"What do you call yourself?"

He laughed softly, his bright eyes set on something in the distance. "I call myself an illusion."

"Where did you come from?"

"Where? From you."

"But…my illusions are never nice…they're always scary…" He shrugged a shoulder.

"Guess not. Right?" He grinned and Dominic couldn't help but grin back. Something about it was so warm and pleasantly familiar…

A crash sounded. Someone screamed. Dominic thought that was where it began, a crash and a scream. Then something whizzed by his head and struck the adjacent building—he thought it was a lightning strike. Whatever it was, it caused an instant explosion of fire and debris that sent Dominic rolling into a wall headfirst. The world burst into fragmented segments of light. A faint ringing echoed in his ears before he hit the ground.

"Run!" someone shouted, but they sounded miles away. Dominic whimpered as he forced his eyes open; the building was up in flames and more of its crumbling smoky pieces were falling to the street, catching and crushing slow-moving bodies. The light hurt and he was forced to look away.

_They're here! They're here!_

The words felt like they echoed on a loop so Dominic couldn't be sure who said it. One thing was for certain though: he had to move or he would get killed. He forced his limbs to work even though they felt like jelly and he took one sluggish step after another, walking away from the burning carnage and into the shadows. The screams faded in his hearing which allowed his thoughts to grow louder.

_What's going on? A Pokémon had to be the cause—humans can't control lightning. But why would a Pokémon kill people? Why are they…why is everyone…?_

He had to stop and rest after a while, which ended with him throwing up in a dark corner. He tried pressing forward but found iron gate blocking his way. He dug around the base until he found some rusted bars and pushed through. It landed him close to a main street where he saw a crowd of people retreating. He looked the other direction and felt his heart stop. Dozens of Pokémon, way too many of them, rushed in the humans' wake, firing at them with not a shred of mercy. Dominic felt sicker than before as he backed away from the sight.

_I'm dreaming, _he thought, but that wasn't true. This wasn't a dream—it was a nightmare. The worst kind, too. Swallowing back bile, he turned and ran again.

"Hey." He pulled up short before a small form dropped ahead from one of the building tops. The Pawniard was the same size as him but bearing far more attack power in the form of its bladed arms. "Whose side are you on, huh? Ours, or _theirs?_"

"I—d-don't, no—please—" He swallowed and shook his head despite the action worsening his headache. "Th…This is wrong. Stop, please. These people, they're our friends…"

"So that's your side," he muttered, and without further ado, he lunged forward aiming for the throat. But Dominic had grown up around Champion-level Pokémon and so his reflexes allowed him to dodge that time. The next time, his blade sliced the tip of his ear off. Blood gushed from the would and he was momentarily paralyzed at the copious amounts of it. He didn't know…blood could be produced in such volumes.

"What sides? Stop!" He was whimpering and near tears despite his age but screw it. He was scared, he was terrified he could be killed on the spot. _Like Skarmory. _He shuddered at the memory and avoided another fatal hit, earning a long slice along his right side. The blade bit into his skin like icy fire and he wanted to curl up at the sheer agony. This wasn't a play exercise, it was real life or death. He used that thought to combat his flight response and ducked the Pawniard's next swipe, using the vulnerable second to latch onto his leg with his teeth.

"Sides! You're on the side that'll die!" His voice was high with pain and Dominic suddenly wondered how old he was. Certainly not an adult but didn't sound like a kid. Then his thoughts were cut short when his blade cut inches from his nose. He was forced to jump back and right into a follow-up attack which pierced deep into his left hind leg. He keened long and loud before the energy built in his stomach, then exploded into a Shadow Ball right between them. Dominic rolled across the concrete and crashed into a collection of metal trash bins. The Pawniard skidded before regaining its balance and clutched his now useless arm.

"Ugugu…" He climbed free from the mess and flopped to the ground, left literally without a leg to stand on. All three injuries bled weakly and his head spun. He watched the Pawniard readying itself for another strike and thought, _I can't fight back, I don't know _how. _Maybe I should just…_

Then his _duh! _moment came. _I don't need to "fight back!"_

He pushed himself up and onto shaky paws when he lunged forward yet again, bloodied blade poised for a finishing blow. Dominic lifted his chin and looked down at the Pawniard. He decided on the most grown-up line he knew: "Fuck you and your sides." The Pawniard looked up and met Dominic's eyes. He didn't have any ideas, couldn't get his brain to think straight anymore, so he just let his imagination run wild. The Pawniard fell convulsing, and Dominic found he didn't care. He turned and left, limping towards the last safe haven he knew.

"I have to…find Steven…" He blinked away tears as he grew closer to Steven's home, seeing the place torn from its foundation, plaster and furniture scattered everywhere. Steven was up and fighting on the beach despite a bleeding head injury and his broken left arm, and his Pokémon were some of the good guys, except his team was down to four. Aggron was on the ground and he wasn't moving.

_He was riding, the wind in his fur, his ears flapping madly against his skull, his cheeks sore from grinning so much. He laughed into the harsh breeze as Aggron sped his trot further, tearing up the tall grass until they were sprinting across a field, the taste of sun in his mouth and the sky stretching miles and miles—_

"Metagross, Mega Transformation!" Steven commanded, pressing a stone on his lapel. Metagross glowed with an iridescent light before shifting into another twelve-armed form, attacks flying at a faster pace and hitting the attacking rebels significantly harder. Rebels…that was the word for them. Those who rebelled against humans. Those who bit the hand that fed them. So, Dominic was…didn't that make him…?

Steven met eyes with Dominic, and a century later they were still gazing at each other, Dominic with terror and wariness and Steven with the same. There was a question between them directed only at Dominic, and without physically hearing it he understood what Steven was saying with amazing clarity: _Which side?_ Dominic raised his head, showing he heard, but he didn't answer. How could he? How could he so easily betray (again) the only master he had ever known? Who taught him right from wrong, how not to use his illusions?

Steven knelt and offered his hands. Once upon a time, Dominic would have happily run and jumped into them, gnawing on his collar as he laughed. But that was before—before he killed Skarmory and fled without a word like a coward. Steven owed him nothing now, not even mercy. Dominic raised his chin and stepped back.

"Steven?" Cradily asked. Steven shook his head a fraction of an inch. Dominic didn't quite understand human ages, but Steven rose like an old man then.

"Metagross," he said with this drawn look on his face. Metagross knew instantly, turning its gaze on Dominic.

Looks like Steven made the choice for him.

Its Flash Cannon was almost hard to follow—almost. The Pawniard was much faster. Dominic repelled it with Protect, digging deep into the loose sand of the beach. He heard a storm coming, tasted it as well, and it brought on memories of…better times. He felt the sand shift before feeling steel claws clasp around his small body, bringing him up to eyes of steel which conveyed only steel. Metagross' grip intensified, forcing Dominic to choke on the air he couldn't inhale.

_"__I can Mega Evolve," Metagross boasted. Dominic blew his cheeks out as his fur stood on end._

_"__Well I can—I can, uh—spin a ball on my nose!"_

_"__So can a Sealeo," it grinned. Dominic huffed and turned his nose up. "But you do have something going for you." It reached out and Dominic hopped onto its gauntlet. Metagross raised him into the air. "You're a pretty special little guy, Dominic."_

He couldn't do it. How could he? It was one thing to put a random attacker under his spell, but to do the same thing to Metagross with the intent to finish the job? The thought hampered his breathing further. He killed Skarmory by accident and his soul was already tainted; what would happen if he did the same on purpose? What would it mean for Dominic?

_I can't, _he thought as the world darkened around him and his strength seeped away. _I can't…_

_SO LET ME_

The warm memories abruptly slipped away like a door had closed. His body felt weak and he was seeing things as if from a distance. He wondered if that was what death felt like. If so, he was some kind of zombie, because his body was still moving. He groaned pitifully before whispering, "You don't…l-look at the…friend you're k…killing?" Expectedly, Metagross raised its eyes at his remark, and a terrifying smirk split across Dominic's face. Metagross froze and its claws opened, letting Dominic fall to the ground.

"Metagross…?" Cradily advanced before the sand at his feet exploded from a Shadow Ball, part of his lower body crumbling to dust from the impact. Blades of darkness sliced into Claydol's abdomen when it attempted a defensive maneuver and Armaldo was halted by waves of black flames cutting into his path. Steven looked on with wide eyes as his team was stopped in their tracks, mirroring Dominic's internal shock. On the outside, his body was collected, bored almost.

_"__Stop,"_ Dominic whispered, watching his body move past the disabled Pokémon and onto Steven Stone. _"Stop. Please, stop! That's Steven, I can't hurt Steven! He's my friend, he's my—"_

_YOU CAN'T, I CAN_

_TO PROTECT US_

Dominic lapsed into darkness for a moment, and when he came to he was in control of his body again. He felt no joy at this small victory and instead succumbed to the stream of warm tears building in his eyes. He wailed into the dark sky for a long time before his fatigue peaked and he curled up on Steven's chest. His hand rested close to Dominic, still warm, and he reveled in that small thought as he whimpered in the face of Steven's silent heart.


	7. 143 Dominic, Part III

**1.4.3. Dominic, Part III**

The news made it official: the world was at an all-time worst.

Dominic tossed the newspaper overboard, rolling onto his stomach to lean on the bow and stare at the sunny sky. He let his claws dip in the water, and a second later he fished out a couple of Magikarp, throwing them onto the boat's wooden floor. He'd gut and eat them later. He lowered his head until he was staring into the crystal blue waters, looking into the eyes of his reflection. Oh, how he wished he looked somewhat like his old man, but alas, he did not—five years of fighting for his life would do that, give him scars over his eye and nose and that little chewed-off bit of his ear and that part of his muzzle that had healed wrong, giving him a weird left-side quirk of his lips. His ponytail was supposed to be long enough to be a tail but something cut it short—might've been another Zangoose, might've been a Scyther, might've been himself but he'd be damned if he remembered.

His parents would really despise what he'd become. He was getting sick of lurking in the darkness, but it was the only thing that could stand him after all.

He felt something move beneath the water but ignored it—well, until the Gyrados was inescapably looking him in the eyes. She even _smelled_ pissed off. "So, I'm guessin' you're not stayin' for dinner, seeing as these're yer sons an' all," Dominic said to her before she struck at him. He leapt from the boat as she swept over it, jaws snapping at air, and he landed on her head. He gripped her whiskers and pulled, bringing her head back as she screeched in pain. "You should know who you're dealing with," he said, releasing his grip to slice away one whisker. Blood shot from the incision and stained his fur and the water. "It's _the King_."

"The King," the she-Gyrados repeated with fear before she dove into the water, leaving a trail of blood in her wake as she swam to its depths. He landed in his boat, shaking it slightly but thankfully not overturning it. He hadn't used that little trick in a long while because of how much he loved the kill, but lately, getting attacked by weaklings was becoming boring. They were just mutilated so easily…actually, that probably was why saying his name got everybody scared so much.

He noticed he was reaching mainland again and grinned. All that time in Sootopolis was driving him bananas, while its eternal darkness was perfect for him. He started skinning one of the Magikarp, tossing its hide into the water for that she-Gyrados to find, and he sliced its innards up into nice cutlets. They tasted sweet and not at all sour, although it could've used a little tartar sauce. He had to remember to pick some up later…

_Dominic curled up in the middle of the hellfire—it wasn't like it was going to hurt him anyway—and he cried without a sound. He felt his tears instantly burn away from the hellfire's heat, but it didn't matter: with each tear that evaporated, thrice took its place until he was finally and completely beaten._

I want…what do I want?

_He saw the King sit in front of him, his head facing forward and his mouth as silent as the fire around them. Dominic wanted to speak, but what could he say? "I hate you"? That wouldn't begin to describe his feelings, and besides, he was still indecisive about the whole thing…oddly. "The King wants to know what you're thinking," he finally said, staring into the black flames._

_"__I mean…don't you already know?" he asked hoarsely. "You're just part of my mind, a figment of my imagination."_

_"__I'm more than a figment, Dominic. I'm here because you want me to be."_

_"__Why the hell would I want you?" he shouted, feeling the knot in his stomach grow even tighter. "You killed…you killed them! I hate you!"_

_"__You 'hate' me…" He chuckled faintly. "You'll laugh when you realize how ironic that is."_

_"__You—you—" But Dominic had no energy to spare, both from the fight and the emotional strength, and his voice broke and he slumped to the ground._

_The King rose and turned, looking Dominic in the eyes. His were darker, or maybe that was just the hellfire's reflection. "We are at an impasse."_

_"__That means…?"_

_"__We can't get along, yet we have to be together, because I'm you and you're me."_

_"__Oh… I'm scats-zoe-anemic."_

_"__What? You mean schizophrenic?"_

_"__That's what I said." Dominic dropped his head to the ground, staring at his paws mournfully. "I don't want to be scats-zoe-anemic..."_

_"__You know, schizophrenia has nothing to do with alternate personalities—"_

_"__I don't want to be you—I don't want to be the King! I want to be me!"_

_"__Guess what?" He stepped closer, flashing his sharp white teeth. "The King is now you, too."_

"No!" He gasped, kicking the Magikarp away. He grabbed his ears to try to banish the thoughts from his mind. "Nooooo! The King can't take any of Dominic's dumb sentiments!"

He had become the King, he had become the King officially. Rex, he reveled in the limelight, excited at the idea of others prostrating before him, but Dominic… Ah, Dominic was sick and tired of every Pokémon and their Eggs shying away every time he passed by; he was sick of humans looking at him with fear and worry, hiding their children and elderly; he was sick of having to creep through the shadows at night like a Holocaust escapee to avoid persecution; he was sick of—

"…I'm sick of living…"

Pills, the King spit them out; holding his breath, the King punched him in the gut so he had to inhale; a knife, the King tossed it away; drowning, the King forced him to surface; burning, the King put the fire out; electrocution, the King always had rubber on him; battle, the King _always_ eviscerated his opponent…

It was easy to see no matter what he did, the King wouldn't allow Dominic the cowardly (but easy) way out of his control.

He ate the rest of the Magikarp and tossed the bones overboard. They weren't enough, but hell, he wasn't going to catch anything better in those waters unless he wanted to deal with fishface again. He scratched his head, searching for something, but he only managed a chewed-up corn cob, his old toothbrush, and a baby Taillow. He released it into the air with a tired sigh.

He heard Big Momma coming back around before he saw her, her and Uncle Ed and Aunt Betty and a couple more Gyrados backing her up. They swarmed him like underwater locusts for a moment before stilling, and he braced himself as they came up simultaneously to bash his boat to wood shrapnel. Luckily, that seemed to be their only purpose. They soon slithered back to the depths, leaving him flailing in the freezing water until he could a large enough chunk of driftwood. He sighed and began paddling down the current.

"Damn you, Arceus…"

He made it to the shoreline, or rather, he sort of washed up next to it. He was too exhausted to even crawl up the bank. He collapsed onto the mud with a sigh, ignoring the feel of it in his fur and closing his eyes. He only needed to rest a few seconds…yeah, just a few sec…

_"__Dominic, come eat," Steven called from the kitchen. Dominic stirred and yawned but didn't move, remaining in the wool blanket's cozy hug. It was wintertime, meaning even with all his fur he didn't dare move three inches from the fireplace. "Dominic…"_

_"__Noooo," he complained, burying his face in his neck fur._

_"__King, come on."_

_"__Huh? I'm not…" Dominic stood, then he noticed a trail of blood slowly making its way from the kitchen onto the living room floor. He panicked and tried to check on Steven, but it felt as if his paws were nailed to the wood. He opened his mouth and instead of words, only a weird cackle came out._

_"__You heard him," Dominic said, but his voice wasn't coming from his mouth. "Come on, _King_."_

_He sunk through the floor as if it was quicksand, feeling it compress his chest and steal his breath away. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he was lying on the beach, the wind whipping salty and fierce with a storm on the horizon. The sky was grey and the ocean was black as lead, furiously slamming against the sand and tossing him backwards like paper in the breeze. He tried to grip something—anything—but he kept getting blown away, and no matter how far back he went he always ended up next to the water only to be blown backwards and repeat the cycle again._

_"__Dominic!" He recognized the voice as Michaela's. She was on the beach, a baby Zorua in her arms…it was him, it was Rex or Dominic Jr. or whatever he chose to call himself. She was looking out into the water shouting his name. He closed his eyes for a second, distraught, and when he looked again there was his father instead, his knees in the sand and his head in his claws._

_He mumbled something with a humorless smile just before several wild Pokémon leapt upon him, teeth gnashing and claws cutting. Dominic got to his feet and ran to his side, but something gripped his hind legs, pulling him to a stop. His eyes widened, then he shut them, turning away._

_"__Get up," the King jeered, grabbing Dominic's arm and pulling him to his feet. "Get up and see what you've done to everybody who's ever cared about you."_

Dominic jerked awake at the feel of razor-sharp claws in his side. He stared down at the wound they created, the blood pouring red and hot down his leg. "Good, you're awake," someone said. He raised his head and stared down a long forest clearing full of Pokémon to the end, where another Zoroark sat on a withering tree stump. He had purple fur instead of Dominic's red and a scar that sealed his left eye shut. "I was afraid you'd died out there."

"Uh-huh… Exactly who are you and who do you think you are to try and kid—nap—me?" He tried to push forward but his arms were outstretched, tied to a tree on either side of him by a cluster of vines.

"I am Lamont," he answered, grey eyes narrowing in warning. "…Do you have a problem with that?"

"Which are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Ya know what I said an' ya know what I mean." He snorted.

"Of course, I'm a revolutionary—the only respectable choice in this whole matter." Dominic rolled his eyes with a moan he didn't bother hiding, shifting a bit to ease the pain in his side.

"'course, 's easy fer me ta respect a bastard that gives me some ulcers as a wake-up call."

"Ah… You have too much of a mouth for your size."

"Yeah? I'd say it's the perfect size." Even though they looked like they didn't want to, the other Pokémon laughed at that. Lamont's eyes narrowed to silver slits.

"I hate funny guys."

"Then youz and mez won'tz be gettin' 'longz." Laont sighed, raising his claws.

"You know what? You're more pain than you're worth. I wanted to offer you a deal, but you're incapable of advanced thought processes, it looks like."

"What _deal?_" Lamont waved him off.

"Why do you care, lone wolf?"

"I don't, but I don't have nothin' better to do."

"I know you're the King, the brass balls guy of southern Hoenn, the rebel with a thirst for blood and a hunger for carnage—"

"Lemme guess, you get most of your words offa cereal boxes."

"—and with my intelligence that is somewhat within the range of a normal living being's," he continued, exasperated, "I think we can do well together."

"I don't work with 'nybody—not even mahself."

"Come on, don't be shy," Lamont said, beckoning him with a claw as if he was a cub. The action made him growl. "And on a side note, if you refuse, you die."

"That's not really a choice…"

"Who said it was?"

"Well, here's somethin' you should know: I don't like you."

"Not many Pokémon do," he admitted, "but around here, _I'm_ the king."

"Really?" he asked derisively. "_You're_ the king around here?"

"That's right." Dominic twisted his arm around, feeling the vine give a little. "Don't think you can cheat your own kind, your own flesh and blood, _King_," he added, brandishing his claws.

"I don't care about flesh and blood. My family, my parents and my adopted family, they all died because of me. Obviously, I don't give two shits about those close to me, those far from me, or anything or anybody in-between." He snapped the vine on his right arm, freeing it, and released a wave of dark energy that KO'd most of Lamont's Pokémon. "And especially not a discolored Zoroark who thinks he can stand up to the King and live to tell the tale." A Cascoon was first to rush him and he braced himself, catching it with his freed arm, and lit it aflame with Flamethrower. Its natural heat allowed it to burst into golden flames like a Molotov cocktail and he launched it back at the remainder of Lamont's crew, letting the trees and brush around them burn away.

"Then let me be part of the minority." With a streak of black fire, the forest was quiet once more. A twinge of pain burned in his exposed muscles and nerves as Dominic swung around to completely sever his restraints. Lamont stood, hellfire burning from his claws and elbows. Dominic dragged his claws across a large boulder, sharpening them with a _screech_ and a shower of sparks.

"You're crass, testy, and from what I've heard and seen, clinically insane," Lamont said as they sunk into a crouch. Circling each other, testing for weaknesses…that was how Zoroark fought. Dominic didn't know how he knew that. "And yet you've never taken a plunge."

"A plunge?"

"You know…" He mimed snapping his neck.

"It's not what he wants."

"He who?"

"The King!" he shouted, his voice reverberating from the trees and sending the nearby bird Pokémon flying. The noise snapped them into full battle mode.

Lamont made the first move, striking out with his claws and slicing away a part of Dominic's cheek. Dominic grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, dealing a punch to his midsection. Lamont spit up, paralyzed, and Dominic snapped his arm before pushing him back into a tree, pinning him to the bark by his neck. "You're fast," Lamont praised. "And relentless, even leaking blood all over the grass. But you should know something."

"What's that?"

"I'm a prodigy when it comes to illusions." A terrifying headache surged between Dominic's temples, downing him, and when he opened his eyes he saw Lamont straddling his hips, his claws dripping a lot of blood with something in his palm, something that was…sort of moving…

"M-My…" Dominic grabbed his right arm—or what was left of it anyway—as Lamont tossed his limb deep into the woods.

"Keep on your toes, _Your Majesty_."

"…You too," Dominic sneered, breaking his own illusion with a sharp tug on Lamont's ears. He blinked wildly as he came to, but Dominic had already broken both of Lamont's legs. "Have you ever heard of Dominick Cobb?"

Lamont growled as another headache started. This time, Lamont had him bound to a tree upside-down with his hands crucified by his own claws. Dominic pulled a similar one, forcing Lamont to swallow his own foot, and Lamont retaliated by making Dominic swallow a handful of nightshade. A dozen illusions later, they finally returned to the real world, tired and sweaty and out of ideas.

"You're not half bad," Dominic admitting, clenching his side when a muscle cramp appeared.

"You as well… As I've said, we'd make a good team."

"As I've said…I don't work with anybody…not even myself."

"You're the only person you can trust," he said.

"Maybe before…but not now. Some Dark-types are only the sum of their parts."

"And you believe that spiel?"

"I have to believe in something…or else I'll go in_sane_." He laughed at the thought of it. "Oh, you really don't want to meet the King, Lamont."

"But isn't that you?"

"…It is." He sliced Lamont's shoulder, creating a thick flow of blood that spilled out onto the grass beneath them. Lamont grabbed the injury, but before he could retaliate Dominic slammed him by the chest, knocking him backwards.

"What?" Lamont said, eyes wide. "I can't…break the illusion…"

"Because it's no illusion," he told him. He lunged at Lamont again, pinning him by his arm to a tree, then he slammed his claws into Lamont's gut, feeling his blood pulse as it poured out of him. Lamont grimaced as his face paled, ears drooping, and gripped Dominic's wrist. Dominic grabbed his snout when his mouth opened.

"I don't want to hear it, not even if you're begging for mercy." Dominic pushed Lamont to the ground and took his place from earlier, sitting on the tree stump. The remainder of his Pokémon looked at Dominic warily before snapping to attention at his growl. He set a foot on Lamont's back, earning a muffled whimper, and pointed at his prone form. "This forest is now mine," he declared. "Should anyone want to challenge that…well, you see the consequences."

_"__Get up," the King jeered, grabbing Dominic's arm and pulling him to his feet. "Get up and see what you've done to everybody that's ever cared about you."_

_"__The King doesn't care," Dominic retorted, taking the King's wrist in turn and tossing him forward into the water. "They want to hurt us, they'll get what's comin' to 'em."_

_The King was gone, leaving only Dominic's reflection staring back at him from the suddenly-still water. "You'll only drag others down until the day you die," his reflection said before grabbing his neck, pulling him under. The water held him down like a weight, pulling him further and further away from the moon and stars. That was pretty much what his mind felt like: heavy water holding him down, preventing him from getting to the surface to breathe. He could hear them, too: the voices of Hell._

_"__Let them scream," he murmured, folding his claws behind his head and moving with the current instead of fighting it. "I'm the only person insane enough to listen."_


	8. 15 Heart Sundae

**1.5. Heart Sundae**

"Did you lose a screw or something?" Reyes demanded, breaking the silence that had overtaken Dominic. He rolled his eyes a little before looking at Reyes as if coming from the recesses of his addled mind. "Why would you do that?" Dominic didn't respond right away, and Reyes felt his patience snap. He moved closer and seized Dominic by the fur around his neck. "Well? _Answer!_" Dominic's ears flattened against his head at his volume and he cringed away.

"Stop it…" he whimpered.

"Stop what? You're fucking ridiculous, King." The word brought Dominic's attention back in a hurry, and he regained that familiar confident glint to his eye. He grabbed Reyes' wrist with one hand and shoved away with the other, stumbling a little before regaining his balance.

"…Don't blow a gasket, Sceptile." The illusion immediately dispelled, freeing the now-confused Slateporters. No lasting damage was visible. "There, it's all good."

"My arm begs to differ," he said through his teeth, indicating his still-healing arm. Dominic folded his arms and rolled his eyes. "What the hell is your problem?"

"You mean aside from my usual?"

"Don't—you—_care?_"

"Why should I? They wouldn't hesitate to kill me if given the chance, so I make the first move. Inspire fear and assert dominance, then they know to leave me alone."

"Look," he said through a tense jaw, tossing aside Dominic's spiel, "I don't know the source of your sudden attitude problem, but _fix it_." The King sneered.

"Make me." Reyes' eyes narrowed.

"Dominic, if I attack you, I can't guarantee your life, not even for Alakazam."

"I should be telling _you_ that." He started to move forward, claws spread, but Reyes knew his trick by now: he would mislead with his annoying banter and/or theatrics before striking, his speed working with his ruthlessness to get a good finishing shot right from the get-go. He had the obvious skills of a practiced killer, so it would have worked on anybody else, but on the contrary, Reyes was a juggernaut, which made him capable of withstanding Dominic's attacks and sending them right back at him.

Dominic launched himself at Reyes with incredible speed, claws prepared to dig his organs out. Reyes seized his wrists instead, setting his heels in the dirt to hold his position, and twisted Dominic down into the ground, pinning his arms behind his back. Dominic growled and tried to look into Reyes' eyes but he refused his gaze, staring adamantly at Dominic's leg, the one with the limp. There was an old scar his fur had almost grown long enough to cover. Reyes held his leaf blade close enough to Dominic's neck he could feel it slicing through the bandages into the teeth marks, reopening them and causing blood to stain his fur, but he went no further. "Kill me," Dominic demanded.

"Don't thing I won—" Dominic suddenly flipped Reyes, reversing positions, and dug his claws into Reyes' chest, getting globs of chlorophyll in his fur.

"Don't think the King won't kill you without a warning!" he said louder, slicing deep grooves into Reyes' neck that impaired his windpipe. Fortunately, being in the sunlight meant the King's attacks were restrained, and also he could continually heal himself. He pinned Dominic's wrists together with his vines and kicked him away. He flopped onto his back with an angry growl, fur bristling, and rushed Reyes again, claws out and flaming with dark energy. Reyes lurched to his feet and put his arms out. Dominic's claws sunk into his chest and stomach, giving him the biting sensation of dark energy, but he stood his ground, taking Dominic's forearms to slam him to the ground.

The air around them shimmered with extreme heat, and Reyes jumped away a second before Dominic and the area around him burst into large black fire that was far from being illusionary. "Ah, now see what you've made me done?" he said in his King voice, standing up and brushing the dirt from his fur. "Now I have to get my hands dirty, all for a stinking revolutionary." Reyes had only heard of hellfire: from what he'd read, it was the purest manifestation of dark energy in existence, burning away at anything and everything until the master had no negativity left to fuel it, and since it was Dominic he was facing, that sure as hell was a lost cause. "You should know hellfire burns like…well, Hell. It's also impossible to douse, weak only to the pure blood of a Legendary Pokémon, and you know how hard it is to injure one of them."

He snorted, backing away as the flames spread. They were fast, almost as fast as Dominic, and he had no chance of winning if he had to split his focus between the two of them. But that wasn't the main issue: If left untamed, they would burn out of control and take the city along with its inhabitants. He needed Dominic to stop them, but that required "Dominic" within his right mind. "Go away, King. I want to see Dominic, the _real_ one."

He pulled back and lobbed a fireball at Reyes. He dodged with no small amount of effort, and a physical attack followed the projectile nearly impossibly fast. Reyes felt more than saw a chunk get sheared away from his shoulder, then he grabbed Dominic's wrist and flung him forwards. He hit the ground skidding and dug his claws into the cobblestone to gain traction, then he took a deep breath and used Flamethrower. Reyes used Agility to jump out of the flames' path, coming to a stop right behind Dominic, and when turned Reyes delivered a chop right to his neck. He doubled over to catch his breath and Reyes slammed his knee into his abdomen as hard as he could. Dominic gagged a spray of red blood that splattered across the stone at his feet before collapsing to his knees, and Reyes grabbed a fistful of his mane and smashed his face into the ground. His ears fell against his head, and a second later the hellfire around them sputtered out. Reyes sighed, releasing him and sitting next to his prone form.

"I told you I didn't want to do this." His left ear twitched, proving he was conscious, but he didn't respond, instead remaining face-down in the growing puddle of his blood. "You think it's fun for me to beat down a kid this way?"

Dominic growled and finally turned his head, giving Reyes a sharp look with one eye. "Kill me."

"Is that what you want? To die?" Dominic looked into Reyes' eyes, but Reyes wasn't scared.

"You won. You proved your point. Finish the job."

"I changed my mind. You should be familiar with the concept."

"Kill me," he insisted. Reyes didn't move, and he growled until he realized Reyes wouldn't do any more. Dominic's furious expression dissolved into dissent.

"…Don't feel sorry for me," he muttered, dropping his head to the ground.

"I can't help but feel sorry for you. Being alone did things to your mind."

"Shut up. I love being alone."

"No, you don't. You're afraid the loneliness will make you think, and you hate where your thoughts lead you. You're not as much insane as paranoid."

"Get off me! You're not my psychologist!"

"There's danger about you, sure, but you're more likely to hurt yourself than others." Dominic squinted a little at the remark but Reyes ignored him. "You have to make an effort to clear up whatever is going on in your brain, because the way you are now—"

"—I won't make friends, I won't have a family, I won't be loved," he sneered. "Oh, yeah, I've heard it all before. Maybe I don't want all of that."

"Maybe you don't want it," Reyes agreed. "But, Dominic, you really do need it." Dominic got to his feet, muttering some nasty things under his breath as he slunk away. Reyes kept his guard up, but the guy was so pitiful he didn't see a point in doing so: his neck was still leaking blood, his eyes crossed a little from vertigo (most likely from the blood loss), and apparently his muscles were affected too, because he was walking like a skeleton on strings.

"Telling me what I do and don't need," he muttered, followed by something Reyes couldn't understand at all, he said it so low.

"You're going to help the marketgoers and clean up the vendors' stalls, and you won't make a single complaint or else I'll personally have your head," he added, his voice dropping in warning. "It won't be a change, but it will be a start."

"And if I don't?"

"I'm not your parent," Reyes said plainly. "I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to. _You_ have to choose to change yourself." He growled, his fur standing on end, but he only managed to look daunting for a few seconds before breaking into a coughing fit. After that, his eyes were narrow but acquiescent. Dominic, the King, whatever he chose to call himself, believed in power and dominance: Reyes won, so he had some measure of control over him, at least for the time being.

"Fuck you, you sound like a damn Christmas movie or something," he muttered under his breath, but Reyes held his eyes until he shuffled back to the booths. Maybe Dominic had potential to change after all.

* * *

Reyes watched Louis dock his boat on the pier, hopping onto the slick wood with a little difficulty. "You took your time in arriving," Reyes noted wryly. Louis laughed a little in embarrassment, scratching behind his ear.

"I'm not the best with anything nautical. I don't know why Jamal sent me. Who in their right mind sends a Fire-type to do this stuff? So, where's the enemy?" Reyes pointed at him still helping the vendors clean up. "He's actually _helping_ humans?"

"Yes, and more or less of his own volition," Reyes replied. "He has the mind of a child and the fickle tendencies of the weather, but apparently he has some semblance of goodwill in him too."

"That's weird. I thought all rebels only cared about themselves."

"The rebels are like us in that they care about each other and they care about their cause, and so they care about anything that benefits their cause and will use any means necessary to attain their goals." He figured most of that on his own, but he'd be damned if he had to admit some facts came from the King as well. "Even we do the same, you know." He sighed and shook his head. "Even so, the King does have his good points."

"Like…?"

"Not that I've seen them yet, but I'm confident they're in there somewhere." He looked over and noticed a pair of dark-haired children playing with a piece of broken glass, using it to reflect red-colored light on the cobblestones. Dominic was completely entranced by the trick, pouncing on the light and chasing after it like a common house pet.

"Maybe he's too stupid to really be a threat?"

"That's more good _news_ than a good point. He does have the power to slaughter all of us…if his I.Q. wasn't in the negative regions." Dominic finally dropped on his back with exhaustion and the little girl came over and scratched his stomach. He arched his torso into her fingers, laying back on the ground and letting his tongue loll out. "But he's also a child. Maybe because of that, I can't really hate him."

"You're just too nice, Reyes."

He sighed. "And don't I know it. Dominic!" Dominic raised his head and sunk into another growl but stood up, pushing the child away (not at all roughly, Reyes noticed) and stalked over.

"I did your damn work what else do ya want from me," he muttered in one breath.

"We're leaving." His ears perked up.

"Really? Finally?" Then his attention was drawn to Louis and he cocked his head to the side. "Who's the monkey?"

"Louis, meet _the King_. Idiot, meet Louis." He gestured to Louis, an amazingly naïve Monferno specimen.

"Bastard," Dominic said to him. "You took your damn sweet time getting here, didn't you?"

Louis started. "Uh…"

"Ignore him," Reyes said, punching Dominic in the side. "Dominic's mouth has yet to catch up with his brain."

"Dominic?" Louis repeated. "That's your name?"

"Don't wear it out." At times like that, it was hard to discern "who" was doing the talking.

"Where did you come from?"

"I dunno, the water?"

"You mean a boat? Where did the boat come from?"

"I dunno…the water?"

"Yeah, boats are on the water, but where was it _docked_ for you to get aboard?"

"Can I kill him?" he asked Reyes instead.

"Let's go already." Fortunately, Louis had brought along a boat decent enough to hold cabins, which was great considering Ever Grande would be an overnight trip, but conversely horrible, because that would mean sleeping within ten feet of "the King." "Louis, do the cabins have reinforced doors?" he asked Louis.

"Um…yeah."

"Great…" _He may find a way though. I'm confident in his resourcefulness,_ he thought sourly. _Killing is the only thing he's good at, really._ He boarded the blue-painted boat and looked over his shoulder. Dominic was still standing on the dock staring at it with an abject look on his face. "Dominic." He groaned and jumped the short distance between the pier and the boat. His weight made the bow dip several inches initially. "Why are you so heavy?"

"It's my _fur_ with all the weight," he said, somewhat offended. It was quite amazing weight-based jokes hurt his feelings more than being called _monster_ or _psychopathic_.

"You need to take everything out. If you fell in the water, you'd drown in a second," Louis explained. Dominic groaned and stomped his feet, but regardless he undid his ponytail and shook his fur out. Eighteen objects of various origin fell out, ranging obnoxiously from a stereo boom box to a framed painting that looked like it was stolen from a museum.

"Motherfu— Are you a pawn shop?" Reyes asked.

"Oh, wait, there's more." He combed his fingers through his fur and three fish Pokémon hit the ground: two Magikarp and a live Octillery. "Shit," he commented, kicking the Octillery back into the water. He let out a hard breath and turned back to the two with folded arms and a dry expression. "Is that it, or is there a pat-down next?"

"You know, it's very likely you'll be joining them in the water with that attitude."

"Bite me," he said with a growl. Reyes held his gaze until he eventually turned away with a huff, then focused on Louis. "I've done as you asked."

"That's it, isn't it?" Reyes asked Louis. He nodded his head.

"We're already stocked up, so we can leave right away." He untied the rope locking the boat to the pier and went inside of the main cabin. The engine started up seconds later, then Slateport was quickly shrinking behind them as they moved across the sea. Dominic stumbled slightly at the sudden movement, then he practically threw himself against the railing, his muscles tensing as he gripped it for dear life. Reyes really didn't understand why he was freaking out so much considering they had _just_ ridden a boat—surely he couldn't have gotten hydrophobic _that_ quickly. Then again, it was hard to understand anything with him. Against his better judgment and severely limited trust, he slowly approached Dominic from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. Dominic didn't tense, which was good, but it wouldn't have made a difference anyway—he was already as tightly strung as a rope.

"_Please_, no pity or therapy or psychology or—"

"No, I just have a general question for you."

"—Huh?"

Reyes moved forward so he could stare out at the world too. "Does this look as beautiful to you as it does to me?"

He took a couple of deep breaths that did nothing to relax his stance. "You don't want to know what I see."

"Try me." He didn't expect Dominic to grab his wrist, and doubly didn't expect the image that overtook his eyes: He saw a sky clouded by grey plumes that poured shattering shards of rain like knives, stabbing at his skin and pounding furiously on the boat. Below, the sea was black as lead and rolled as thunder, slapping and slamming against the hull and tossing them to and fro. He looked over at Dominic, who licked his chops before carefully moving his claws back to the railing. Instantly, he was staring at the calm blue water once more. "What was _that?_"

"Memories." He lowered himself until he could drop his chin on the railing. "Dominic uses me to hide his pain. I see this, and he sees nothing but fucking rainbows. Heh, well, mostly."

"This whole time, you were the King, huh? Why is it you never tried to kill me?"

"I don't have the energy," he said after a moment, rubbing his injured neck. It had stopped bleeding for the most part, and his fur was starting to grow around the punctures and hide them from view. "And the King doesn't like chlorophyll—it's sticky and ugly and smells too sweet."

"That didn't stop you any other time."

"The King finds you terribly annoying."

"Yes, well, do you want to know how I find _you?" _A growl built low in his throat.

"You don't know me."

"Maybe, but nothing's stopping me from taking shots in the dark." The King blinked twice before his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Reyes took the silence as an invitation to go on. "I'm starting to understand you two a little better. You're the same coin, but opposite sides." He frowned at the sea before returning his eyes to Reyes. There was none of that manic energy about him anymore; in fact, if Reyes didn't know any better, he would have thought he was talking to Dominic.

"Dominic can and will kill, not just when he _has_ to. He _seems_ innocent and easy-going, but don't be fooled. The one that killed those kids back in Rustboro was him, since he's the one that cares enough about factionless strays to _avenge_ them or whatever."

"I'm not saying killing is _ever_ good, but Dominic at least has more reason than you."

"Bah, _reason_. Killing is killing whether it's done with good taste or no taste. But you don't understand that yet: you still believe a justified killing is straight. When your hands are bloodied it doesn't matter _why._"

"So, _why_ do you exist in the first place? No offense—actually, I don't care if I'm offending you. You have no purpose if you only kill at Dominic's inconvenience."

"Dominic has a lot of fears," he said after a stretch of pensive silence. He looked oddly contrite, and again Reyes thought he was talking to the other. "He has a lot, but I think the strongest he has is the fear of death. As a little cub facing the world going to shit, what else could he have done? What else could _I_ have done? It's kill or be killed, and he knew where he stood."

"Yes, well, I don't think anyone _chooses_ to be killed."

It was comical to see the King gaping, but that quickly stopped when he threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, you naïve little sapling. You still have much to learn." That statement officially ticked Reyes off.

"You may be smart-mouthed, but I'm still your senior. I've _seen_ more than you have, stupid kid."

"Maybe, but I've _done_ more. And there's something about burying your claws to the hilt in your own kind, knowing your hesitation would've put you on the receiving end, that throws a few decades on you. Maybe I'm a stupid kid, but you're a naïve adult, you all are."

"Dominic," Reyes said, his voice low in warning. His brows furrowed and an ear flicked.

"I'm not Dominic. Get your brain outta your ass." Yet his expression did not match his tone.

"I don't know about that. You both say the same stupid things."

"I'm not Dominic," he repeated. "And you'd do well to remember. I would've peeled you like a banana a long time ago; Dominic is the only reason you're still standing."

* * *

Reyes didn't know what woke him up, but at least it wasn't him lying in a pool of his own blood. He sat up in bed rubbing his jaw, glancing groggily at the wall clock. "Just past three, damn it," he mumbled, sliding to the ground. The boat rocked steadily beneath his feet, not sickeningly but still noticeably. He raised his head as the sound came again: a hurried knock on the door.

_I bet I know who it is._

He opened the door and saw Dominic standing in the hallway, one arm holding his pillow to his chest and the other waving frantically in the air—obviously, that was _Dominic_. "Can I sleep over?" he asked, smiling hopefully.

"No." Reyes shut the door in his face.

"Plea—"

"No." Dominic was quiet, then there was a _thump_ as he sat down on the other side of the door.

"Do you…hate me?" His voice was small.

"Do you really care for the answer?"

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't," he started angrily, then sighed. "I…yer the first person I…talked to in a l…and yer not a figme I just wanna know…"

"I thought I did," Reyes said long after Dominic went silent. "But…and I may be jumping the gun here, trying to add logic and reason where none exists…but I don't think you wanted to be like this. _I_ didn't want to be living like this."

"I didn't wanna be a big killer and tyrant, ya mean," he muttered. "Ya don't have to be nice about it. I'm a bad…no, terrible person. It's fine."

Reyes didn't want to get involved. Why should he have? His only job was to take the King from point A to point B—there was no talking or coddling required. The King certainly didn't need coddling, with enough skills to take down a Sableye in under a minute and almost fight Reyes to a standstill. But he was slowly learning to make the distinction between the King, an iron-hearted killer, and Dominic, the unlucky child. Neither of them he was particularly fond of being around, but if he had to make an honest choice…

"Do you regret any of it?"

"Regret…hmm." That was the King. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that, Sceptile."

"So?"

"I feel accomplished. I feel I did what I wanted for everything I've done."

"So, you're proud of making a murderer of yourself. Of both of yourselves."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Then what do you say to help yourself sleep at night, huh?"

"You shut up!" he yelled. "You think you can read me like a stupid book, but you're wrong."

"Then why don't you tell me what I'm wrong about?" He was yelling now too.

"Me! How things work! Everything!" Dominic banged on the door. "You're wrong! Wrong wrong wrong!"

"And you're—"

"Stop trying to _get me!_ There's nothing _to_ get! _Just tell me to screw off and call it a damn day for yourself, you stupid Sceptile!_"

As ridiculous as Dominic—or should he say the King—could get, Reyes always thought himself a step ahead. Because, as ridiculous as he could be, Reyes had more world experience. "You want me to hate you," he said quietly.

"…You should." His voice was hoarse. "Everyone does. I thought you did, and things were fine and dandy then, but…you should hate me, Sceptile."

"I hate to break it to you, Dominic—"

"I'm not."

"—but I'm not inclined to do anything you want. So, I won't hate you."

"Reyes," he began, then dissolved into badly muffled laughter. Reyes hesitated for a second before pulling the door open. Dominic fell onto his back with a broad grin on his face, and his eyes locked with Reyes'. "Yer the worst."

"Takes one to know one, right?" His smile faded and he closed his eyes, heaving a heavy sigh. Reyes could almost feel the weight of his burden.

"I came from here, except my parents were from Unova," he started. "My mom was adopted from a Pokémon Breeder and my dad was a stray picked up by the same guy. My name, also, wasn't always Dominic—that's my dad's name. My real name is Rex, and it means _king_." He didn't say any more than that, but it was still a lot of unfamiliar information about him.

"That doesn't sound that bad." Then again, he could sense there was more to come. Dominic opened his mouth, closed it again, then looked off to the side.

"…I hafta let him talk now. He knows what I don't." He sighed again and threw his arm over his eyes.

"The human, Ali, was a seaman. He loved travelling and going to unexplored places, but not to battle, which his dad didn't like. On the night I was born, it was storming horribly. My dad, he went out instead of staying with my mom, and nobody knows why, but he went out to the beach. He was attacked and killed by some wild Pokémon. My mom and Ali, they were killed during a storm at sea. I washed up, the only one still alive because my mother sacrificed herself to save me, and Steven Stone found me."

"…Well?" Reyes prompted when he went silent.

"When the revolution began, Dominic took his kindness and repaid it by killing him and his Pokémon in cold blood. That's where it started. That's where I was 'born.'" He pushed himself into a sitting-up position with his back to Reyes. "You can use your imagination and picture the worse that a person can do, and worse things than that are what I've reveled in. And I _don't_ regret it, Mr. Psychologist. It's because of everything I've done that I survived as long as I have: people fear me, therefore they stay away from me."

"They can't hurt you," he finished. Dominic moved so suddenly Reyes had no time to respond. He was tackled to the ground and Dominic's claws were digging into his wrists, pinning him down.

"Fuckin' a-right they can't hurt me," he said in a low voice. "And people like you stop trying to play these pointless ass mind games with me." He slammed Reyes' arms down hard enough to hurt. One of Dominic's knees dug into his lower stomach, most definitely bruising.

"You're a real friendly fuck, aren't you?" He raised his leg and kicked Dominic in the stomach, sending him flying backwards until his back hit the farthest wall. He was back on his feet by the time Dominic recovered and charged him again. He went for a slash with his claws and Reyes simply knocked his paw away. He kept trying, though, striking at his face and neck and stomach, but Reyes always blocked, never returned.

"Why aren't you hitting back?" he eventually shouted, flames swelling in the back of his throat. Reyes lurched forward and grabbed his neck and nose. He flailed for a moment before gripping Reyes' arms, trying to pull him away even as his eyes rolled back from suffocation. Reyes released him and he landed hard on the ground, gasping for air with smoke trailing out from between his teeth. Reyes sighed with annoyance and exhaustion.

"Give it a rest already, Dominic."

"I'm not!" He growled and attempted to stand, but it seemed he'd reached his limit for the day, because he couldn't rise higher than his elbows.

"You could've been a revolutionary," Reyes thought aloud. "If all you wanted to do was survive, you could've been a revolutionary. You would have been fighting for _good._" Dominic laughed weakly.

"There's no good and bad, Sceptile, not anymore. And even if there was, think about it: why wouldn't everyone be a revolutionary? Your Alakazam is so strong, he could turn anyone he pleased to your side, whether by force or—whatever. But he doesn't. He picks and chooses the same way Blaziken does, and guess what?" Reyes crouched down and met his eyes. They were narrow with hate. "He didn't fuckin' choose me. So, I chose. And if I chose wrong, it's on _his_ ass." Then, as Reyes held his gaze, they abruptly filled with tears. "I'm sorry. Sorry, Reyes…" He shut his eyes tightly, then they snapped open again when Reyes rested a hand on his head between his ears.

"I don't hate you…and sadly, I don't think I can. I wonder why."

"Yer probably an idiot like me," he muttered. Reyes smirked ruefully.

"Probably, yeah." Dominic smiled, then a particularly large wave struck the hull. His ears snapped close to his head and he curled in on himself with a low whine. Knowing what he now did about Dominic, he reaction made more sense. Reyes, though, couldn't understand his own reaction: he shut his door with Dominic still inside and sat next to him on the floor, still with his hand on Dominic's head.' Reyes let out a long breath and closed his eyes.

_I really am too soft._


	9. 16 Even Demons Can Hope

**1.6. Even Demons Can Hope**

"Are we there yet are we there yet are we—" Reyes grabbed Dominic's muzzle and slammed him to the deck. "Reyes, that hurt," he complained, rubbing his jaw.

"Do I look like I care?"

"Why are you so mean today?" he whined before giving up, running to the railing to hop excitedly at the looming island holding Ever Grande City and the Hoenn League. Dominic—or was it the King, he wondered—never fell asleep. Most likely because, duh, he was nocturnal, but Reyes was not, and it was hard to sleep with Dominic's constant movement and noise. The sun on his back helped rejuvenate him a bit though. "It's like an island paradise!"

"Morning," Louis said, coming out of the main cabin with a plate of Berries. He handed them to Reyes, who took them gratefully. "Sorry, I wasn't sure what you eat," he said to Dominic.

"I eat those!" Dominic practically jumped over the railing, pointing at the rolling schools of Magikarp, Lumineon, and Feebas below them. "But I can't swim…"

"I can't dive down there, my fire will burn out," Louis said. Both turned to Reyes.

"I won't go down there to catch fish for you to eat. It's against my ethics."

"Please, Reyes?" Dominic pleaded.

"No way. Just eat Berries."

"Berries aren't a real meal!"

"On the contrary, Berries have more nutrients as a meal than a fish." He offered his Berries to Dominic, who pulled a face and shook his head.

"Meat," he said staunchly, setting his jaw. Reyes shook his head, avoiding eye contact in case he had any funny ideas. It was only when he heard a splash behind him that he remembered Louis didn't know Dominic's trick. He ran to the railing and saw him sinking below the surface, his fire creating a warm orange glow as it began fading. Reyes formed a vine and tied it into a loop, tossing it down into the water. It hooked around a body and he began pulling Louis free. He was more or less alright in the end—he hadn't been underwater long enough for it to have caused lasting damage—but he was a little shaky from the temperature. There was a pair of large Magikarp held in his tail that he dropped on deck. Dominic instantly pounced on them like a wildcat, catching them as they tried to flop away.

"Stop it." Reyes stomped on the bend of his elbow hard enough to hurt, but not hard enough to break it. "You need to stop treating other people and Pokémon so callously, because someday your karma will return full circle."

"The King does not believe in karma!" he declared. "But he believes in immediate gratification."

"Now I see why he's a rebel," Louis commented. Reyes sighed.

"He's not very good at learning lessons either." Reyes kicked the fish back into the sea. Then he angled his body towards Dominic's, and he met Reyes' eyes with a dispassionate expression. "But now you're hurting my friends, so you're going to be in another game. You'll learn respect, you'll learn restraint, and you'll learn to _relent,_ or so help me I'll slice you up so badly Hell won't know what to make of you."

"The King doesn't find your threats amusing," he snorted. Reyes grabbed him by his nose, bringing him up until he could slice away the tip of Dominic's ear.

"They aren't meant to be." Blood poured down Dominic's face from the wound. He touched it in disbelief, then he grinned.

"That a boy, Sceptile. It's no fun if the prey doesn't want to fight back." Reyes released him and he landed perfectly on his feet.

"You're going to apologize to Louis."

"Why in hell would I—" Reyes slashed at his face, an attack he just barely managed to deflect with his claws. Sparks flew from the contact and Dominic's wrist made a painful snapping sound from the force he needed just to defend himself. He stumbled, and Reyes grabbed Dominic's head and forced him down into a bow. He grumbled beneath his breath, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry what?"

"I'm sorry for almost drowning you Louis!" he repeated, breathlessly angry. Reyes released him and he slunk back to the railing. Reyes folded his arms and huffed in annoyance.

"He's such a pest." Louis, once he'd gotten past his chattering teeth, looked back at him.

"I mean, I can tell that he's somewhat of a good guy…at least, he never tried to kill us in our sleep or anything," Louis said to Reyes, twiddling his thumbs anxiously, "but it's not all that smart to make friends with him."

"Does it _look_ like we're friends?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"It's a good thing your species isn't the Clarity Pokémon." When Louis headed below deck, probably to mull over his will, Dominic gave Reyes a curious look.

"Yer winnin'."

"What are you talking about?" Reyes asked.

"Probably not for long."

"Are you going to make sense anytime soon?"

He turned away and his ears flattened against his head. "Against the King. He listens to you…mostly. He doesn't listen to anyone else though, not even me."

"That's not how it works. The King _is_ you."

"He's not!"

He watched as Ever Grande's docks came into view and helped Louis moor the boat on the pier. Dominic didn't move for several seconds even after the boat was secured to a post, and it wasn't until Tex came down that he actually made any gesture, although it was one of alarm and surprise. "Tex, quit doing that, you scare the crap out of everybody," Reyes told it.

"P-P-Porygon-Z?" Dominic stammered, still in shock from his appearance. Tex immediately began buzzing about him, causing his mane to frizz out from his constant electric emissions. "O-Oi, that hurts," he complained, trying to move away. Tex just followed him, being the annoying virtual insect that it was.

"Tex, what are you doing here?"

"MEET-MEETING THE NEW GUY," it replied, finally backing away from Dominic. At that point, his fur was so out of sorts he looked like a red and grey fur ball. Louis had to cover his mouth with all four hands to keep from laughing aloud.

"The Sharpedo will be feasting upon your tongue," Dominic warned him. Reyes grabbed his ear, pulling his head down and earning a pained whinny from him.

"Let's go already, Tex," Reyes said. They walked up the carved stone staircases to a ledge, where they each had to climb ladder rungs made of rocks embedded into the stone wall to reach the downhill end of the city. They had to hike through some tall grass, fending away the natural wild Pokémon there (and also prevent Dominic from eating the smaller ones) before they reached the final checkpoint, which was the "gate" situated around the city. It was only seven feet long and seemed paltry, because the actual gate was a psychic barrier held up twenty-four/seven, barring the city from all types of Pokémon, and though he had never visited Sootopolis, he assumed that the rebels had something similar. A handful of Psychic-types maintained it at all times, but there was only one that gave them her full attention.

"Reyes, you've returned safely," Azalea beamed, throwing her arms around him when he came near. He returned the hug before pulling away, and she began examining the others. "And Tex, Louis… I'm assuming the one I can't sense is the King?"

"Yes, that would be Dominic. He is a Dark-type."

"Maybe if you took off that blindfold you'd see me," Dominic pointed out. Azalea just smiled kindly.

"That still wouldn't work. You see, my physical eyes were injured a long time ago. I can't see through them at all."

"Really?" he asked, eyes wide. A second later, that "King" expression crossed his face and he whispered something to Azalea, resulting in her slapping him so hard Reyes' jaw ached. Dominic whined and clenched his swelling cheek.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing that a proper lady should repeat." She held up a hand to the gates. They parted, and less visibly, a hole appeared in the barrier for them to go through—in fact, the gates were only a marker to know where the hole would be because of the barrier's consequences. Reyes, Louis, and Tex used the gates like _normal_ effing Pokémon, but Dominic, extraordinary as he was, tried leaping over them. He received a face-full of barrier, then a face-full of the potent psychic energy it held, which manifested on him as a field of electricity. (The contact varied between Pokémon for reasons unknown. For Reyes, it was a strong Fighting-type punch in his reproductive organs…all both of them.) Dominic hit the ground in a larger fluff than before. He remained still for exactly three seconds before getting to his feet, followed by an almost obsessive preening to resettle his fur.

"What've we learned today?" Reyes said to him, making no attempt to hide his self-satisfied smirk.

"Sh'ddup."

Reyes waited for Dominic to stumble his way through the hole, then let Azalea seal it up behind them. He expected ten seconds of silence from Dominic at least, but he only got two.

"That Gardevoir was haaaawt."

"She's got a mate," Louis told him.

"Not that I care."

"Dominic, pretend to be a stable member of society." They had to walk a few more pathways and do a little more hiking, something he could've done without Dominic's never-ending complaints, but they finally reached the last ledge in the mountainous city. Dominic's head went back and his jaw dropped in awe at the sight of Ever Grande City.

The entire place was blooming with flowers, seeing as it was early spring, and when Ever Grande was in bloom it truly was grand. Roses, daisies, hydrangeas, clovers, rhododendrons, tulips, violets, et cetera all opened up to all colors of the rainbows and then some, peeking out with no shame whatsoever from every corner of the ground not taken up by the flagstone path. The buildings were revamped, all built from naturally-made products to give it the same appearance as plaster but eco-friendlier (and being duly appreciated by Grass-types) and none were as dilapidated as those within the rebels' cities or the humans' cities. Shops and stores abounded, national parks were all over, and very few walked around appearing downtrodden. In short, Ever Grande was as close to a paradise as that world was going to get.

"Since the revolutionaries are situated here, there are little to no attacks. Therefore, we're not constantly on guard or have to have weapons constantly at the ready," Reyes told Dominic, who still hadn't fixed his dislocated jaw. "Also, we're not always doing repairs and humans are free to raise families here. This is one of the nicest cities still remaining, if you couldn't see."

"I… Flowers?" He bent down to pluck one of the flowers from the ground, taking a sniff. "It's weird…so weird…" He stuck it in his fur so that the sunflower's petals stuck out and got down on all fours, sniffing at more of them. Remembering what happened the last time he had a taste of life, Reyes grabbed him by his ponytail, pulling him back. "How is this place possible?" he asked in awe. "How do ya get all these good supplies and stuff?"

"We—" He never thought about it, but the revolutionaries monopolized just as much as the rebels: They asked for a lot of cities in exchange for protection from the rebels including top-rate potential revolutionaries, the best food, and seventy percent of shipments that were supposed to head to the Pokémart. Considering that non-revolutionary/rebels lived within those cities as well with their own Pokémon that also required Potions, Restores, et cetera, it seemed demanding, but Reyes, he had never noticed. "…That's neither here nor there," he finally answered. "Alakazam is over in the Pokémon Center. You're going to talk to him, then you're going to get the hell out of here before you ruin _our_ lives."

"Aye-aye," he muttered. Reyes steered him towards the Pokémon Center, getting a few unnecessary stares in the process. The glass doors pinged softly as they slid open, blasting them with cool air and the crisp scent of cinnamon as they entered. Nurse Joy and her Chansey were speaking to a young Trainer with his two Eevee, and there were only a few other Trainers within the lobby. Tex and Louis separated from them to attend to their own duties. Reyes released Dominic and he started sniffing around, not saying anything for a long while.

"Alakazam is in the basement area. And _please,_ for the love of all that's holy, show some damn restraint. Despite your Dark-type, he is powerful enough to chuck you like a skipping stone."

"I…don't think I get the simile."

"Not that it matters. You'll probably get to see it yourself." Reyes opened the backroom's door for him, allowing him into the stairwell. They walked the short distance into the cold basement where a few revolutionaries lurked.

"Give him a minute," said the Meditite hanging in front of Alakazam's door.

"Is there a problem?"

"Maybe. I don't know. He said something about a plan before he started meditating—maybe the rebels are coming up with something new?" Then his eyes went to Dominic. "Who's this?"

"He is—"

"Dominic," he interrupted. "I'm Dominic." He seemed content to leave things there, then his eyes dulled before gaining that certain look Reyes had begun to dread. "Of course, most don't call me that. They refer to me as _King_." If possible, the air chilled even more. Reyes could _feel _all eyes turn on them, followed by waves of anxiety and hostility, while Dominic smirked and soaked it all in. "And I'm in your home base, roaming freely, able to do what I please…" Reyes didn't entertain his foolishness with a response. He just formed several thick vines and knotted them into his loud mouth.

"I'm not the only one that thinks Alakazam's off his rocker," a Raichu complained. "Bringing that guy into our home, our last safe place? Come on!"

"I've heard he can take out a room full of Pokémon without even moving," a Mightyena said, a growl beneath his words. "Can you, or are you all _bark _and no _bite?_" Dominic's smirk turned manic, like the curl of a skull, and he bit hard into the vines. "I say Alakazam's brought us a chew toy."

"Good—I needed a new one," a Mawile smirked with both mouths.

"Don't provoke him," Reyes said, then turned to face the rest of them. "Come on! Don't you all believe that Alakazam has his reasons?"

"I believe he has _reasons,_" the Mightyena responded. "I don't believe they're _good _ones."

"So you're saying you don't have faith in him." Most of the room went silent, but Mightyena wasn't satisfied.

"We trust Alakazam. We don't trust your friend there."

Seriously. That wasn't the point. He didn't even care so much for what the revolutionaries were talking about, he knew where they were coming from, but he didn't want the King to do something stupid and get himself killed where he stood. "He's _not_ my—"

"Mffm," Dominic said, rolling his eyes. He made more muffled noises as he gnawed on the vines until they snapped. Then, before he could react, Dominic threw his arm around Reyes' shoulders and brought him close. "This bastard right here is the most devoted out of all you idiots, and though he pisses me all the way off, the King likes his commitment."

"Get off me." Reyes pushed Dominic away, causing him to stumble before he could regain his balance. Which was odd, since he was usually more elegant than that. "You don't need to make things up to make this situation worse than it is."

Dominic's face was openly shocked and confused, and Reyes would've chalked it up as Dominic being Dominic if not for his posture. That was still his "King" attitude, Dominic never held himself that way, but why was he…?

A sound from within the room broke the sudden silence, then the door slowly creaked open. The Mightyena and Mawile dropped their ire with a scoff, heading up the stairs, and the rest of the Pokémon looked to Dominic and Reyes expectantly. The King schooled his features into a blank slate and straightened. "And I guess that's my grand cue— Oh, hey! You're coming with me," he said as Reyes walked away, seizing him by the tail.

"Why in hell?"

"In case he tries to…I don't know…smite me."

"This would have been something you considered at the beginning, no?"

"Considered, yes." It was an incomplete thought, but he let it hang and tried pulling Reyes backwards. Reyes, being a plant, was hard to move when he wanted to be.

"Stop it already. You're acting like a—" _A child. _"…a paranoid fuckhead."

"Paranoia is good. It keeps you alert, alive." Reyes couldn't tell if he was being serious. "And I—" His voice cut away and he straightened with an unnatural stiffness, quickly enough that Reyes heard his spine crack, and he fell backwards onto his rear. He looked towards the door with a growl building in his throat, but his ears were flattened in submission rather than anger. "…Fine, have it your way, asshole," he muttered. He stood, gave a groan while stretching his back, then loped into the room. The door quickly shut behind him.

Reyes was only half aware of what he did for the next couple of hours. He helped sort boxes of supplies and repaint a boat and find someone's lost Pokédex, but inwardly he kept wondering if Alakazam did call Dominic just to kill him. It made no sense in reality—why go through all the effort with the amount of power Alakazam had?—but the thought remained. Because, at the end of it, Reyes didn't know why Alakazam called him, the King, specifically. There were a few other integral parts of the rebel force, Pokémon with as much power and notoriety, but with Alakazam's intelligence, he must have picked Dominic for some key reason.

No more than two hours passed before Azalea approached Reyes on the streets. He started to smile, but he noticed something unusually tense about her expression. Her voice came out normal: "Alakazam wants to see you."

"Um…for what?"

"He didn't say." Wow, if that wasn't eerily similar to how he summoned Dominic… He frowned at Azalea's demeanor as she turned away.

"Are you alright?" She stopped and smiled at him over her shoulder, but it was tense and both knew it.

"I'm fine. Alakazam doesn't like to wait, you know?" His frown deepened, but she had a point. _And, well, _he thought, rubbing his neck, _at least I can find out what happened to Dominic. Maybe then I can get some freaking focus._

* * *

The room was entirely empty save for a bright red pillow set in the middle of the wooden floor. On it was Alakazam, even though he was actually hovering a few inches above it, legs crossed and spoons poised as if for an invisible bowl of soup.

"Good afternoon," he interrupted, scratching his long grey whiskers. The spoon remained in the air even as his hand moved.

"It's actually morning." His response came a little slow when Dominic distracted him. Contrary to making his presence widely known, as Reyes had gotten accustomed to, he was seated in the corner and watching their exchange with a tight expression, much like Azalea's actually.

"My mistake." He cracked an eye open, looking at Reyes and then Dominic.

Dominic sort of mumbled something that sounded dangerously like _"Revolutionary scum."_

"I wouldn't say that we're _all_ scum," Alakazam countered evenly, twirling his spoon psychically.

"Oh, you are, trust me," he said dryly, but he sounded too exhausted for it to be biting. As a matter of fact, when Reyes looked at him again, he was shaking very slightly. What in the world could have happened in two hours that brought the King into that state?

"Alakazam, why did you want to see me?"

Alakazam didn't speak for a while, humming softly in meditation, then he raised his voice: "This revolution has been going on far too long, don't you think?"

He swallowed and clenched his fists. "Of course. If you asked anyone else here, they'd give you the same answer."

"Ah, but I'm asking you." His tone was loaded and Reyes stiffened. "As it began, I sought to abide by certain limitations…rules, if you will…in order to create a favorable outcome."

Dominic, whose shaking had increased since Alakazam started talking, snapped his head towards them. "That's what ya think?" He started growling, then his eyes popped wide and he turned away with a sudden whimper. Alakazam hadn't moved.

"As I was saying, I'd been working by some limitations, but time is drawing onwards with no sign of progression. The rebels refuse to yield and continue to press without yielding, so we must increase our defense and offense. That is why I had the King brought over here."

"Regardless of the risk," Reyes had to say. Alakazam let out a clipped laugh.

"I had faith in your abilities. You're very strong, Reyes. That strength is what attracted me to you." That tone again. Also, it had a memory niggling Reyes' brain, something Dominic said… "The King is the integral piece here, hence his presence." Dominic bristled and huddled further into himself. "He wasn't too willing at first, but after a while Dominic gave me the information I need." _Dominic._

"Which is…?"

Alakazam descended to the cushion and fully opened his eyes. "We are going to strike at the rebels' weak points, their figureheads, and while they're down, we'll end things. We'll go through their cities and pick them off, ensuring that not even their ideals remain among the populace, and with that, the revolution will come to an end."

A cold feeling settled in Reyes' stomach. He wanted the revolution over—that was a given. And maybe—no, certainly, three years after it began when he lost his best friend, he would have followed along with genocide without a second thought. Hell, if he'd been presented the option a month ago, he might have agreed. Now, however, having seen a rebel that was nothing more than a confused and scared kid, he wondered how many more were like that, how many more Pokémon Alakazam couldn't reach in time and had to throw themselves at the closest side to survive.

_"__Your Alakazam is so strong, he could turn anyone he pleased to your side, whether by force or—whatever. But he doesn't. He picks and chooses the same way Blaziken does, and guess what? He didn't fuckin' choose me."_

The King…had a point. Reyes was reluctant to admit it, but he had a point. Alakazam could have saved Dominic from whatever trauma happened in his past but he didn't, and Dominic was in this position now. Did that mean every rebel had once been in Dominic's position with his backstory? Certainly not, and the number of innocents was still less than half, but that still spelled out hundreds of Pokémon who didn't deserve a massacre.

He was digressing, and Alakazam was still awaiting a response.

"Alakazam, I don't think this is the right way to go about things. It's…_not _the right way to do things. For starters, how could you stop the revolution that way? No one's feelings would change—actually, they'd fight back _harder_ if you did. There would be no stopping new rebels from showing up out of this—" _Catastrophe._

"They would try to fight _me?_" He actually sounded amused. Reyes gritted his teeth.

"They would try." _And you'd kill them for it._

"They will see reason after a while. They must. This thing has to end someway—it's already gone on long enough." Dominic chuffed but didn't speak up. What did Alakazam _do_ to him?

"I will agree, it has to end. But not this way." Reyes knew his place in the strength hierarchy, falling several rungs below one of the strongest, if not the strongest, Psychic-types in the world, but he stood his ground and said his peace with enough steel in his voice ward off all doubt. Alakazam's eyes narrowed, betraying his annoyance.

"I'd think after what you endured, not to mention what the other revolutionaries have gone through, you would have been prepared to do anything to prevent more tragedies."

"I _am_ preventing a tragedy!" He did look at Dominic this time, and his eyes were wide but he nodded in encouragement. Reyes stepped forward and continued in a harsh voice, "I know there's another way, something besides butchering the rebels and _threatening_ the rest of the general public into submission! That's what the worst of the rebels would do, and I'm not one of them. That's something I'd _never_ do!"

"You would have," he said eventually, having let the ensuing silence ring in their ears for several seconds. "Before, you would have. What changed?" And Reyes felt a distinct probing sensation around his brain.

"Stop—" He was cut off as his head exploded in pain, and Reyes fell back on the ground hard. Stinging pain went up his back as his tail snapped from the impact, but he was busy trying not to scream aloud as Alakazam combed through his thoughts. The sensation only lasted a few moments before a cold chill like death coursed through his body. He thought he _was_ dead at first, it was so sudden, then he realized it came from a touch on his shoulder.

"Leave…Re-Reyes…alone." Dominic's voice came fragile and shaky, but his grip was strong. Alakazam sighed and set his hands in his lap.

"You've even befriended the rebel." Reyes didn't have the strength to argue, focusing on lifting himself from the ground. "You don't know him. You don't know what I've seen in the King's mind."

"I don't know him," Reyes agreed. "But _Dominic_ wouldn't stoop as low as you have. That much, I know with certainty."

The psychic pressure of the room increased. "You're not going to side with me. Is that really your choice?"

"You're the one who went rooting through my mind, what do you think?" Alakazam's eyes glowed white.

"I think I've found another problem to staunch."

"_Shit,_" Dominic whispered, and he turned and barreled into Reyes just as an unbelievable amount of pure psychic energy raged through the room. The walls split and plaster disintegrated, causing dirt to spill into the room as the foundation was wrecked, and the floor was torn away and fried with the heat of the energy. Dominic's reaction speed saved Reyes' life, but he was still clinging. Reyes stumbled to his feet to find Dominic's arms wound around his neck in a vise grip.

"Get off me!" Reyes yelled, running past the blown doorway to the stairs.

"Nooooo, I'm scared," he whined. Dominic was a little smaller but a good bit heavier than Reyes. He could barely move without stumbling, and he felt Alakazam's energy tingling on the back of his neck. He finally grabbed Dominic by the waist and pulled him free just in time to receive a particularly strong Psywave, knocking them to the ground and breaking the staircase down into chunks of rock. The demolition progressed to the supports in the wall and the ceiling, and this time Reyes pushed Dominic down, and they ducked their heads against the rain of concrete and insulation.

"Are we stuck down here?" Dominic asked once it was over, eyes wide and glowing through the haze of dust. Reyes gritted his teeth and forced his fists to relax before he punched him in the face.

"Why, now, are you so bearable? Had you been as annoying as you have been since I met you, I'd find this a lot easier—!"

"I'm sorry!"

"_Shut up!_" Reyes wrapped an arm around Dominic's waist before pushing off with his legs as hard as he could, using his prowess in digging through earth to his favor. He burst through the asphalt and onto the street, seeing a crowd gathering at the sounds that originated from the Pokémon Center and its basement—which had both collapsed, he now noticed. Dominic was still flopping in his grip when he turned and ran, but he could _feel _Alakazam's presence behind him. Still, he refused to turn away, and he ducked into the nearest network of alleys he could find.

"Reyes…?" Dominic's voice was still weak.

"You're a hell of a screw-up, you know? I wouldn't have _thought_ of letting off on Alakazam like that before I met you. You just—you screwed up my beliefs! Fucking hell, Dominic." He skidded to a stop behind a stack of weathered crates and quickly dropped to a crouch, releasing him to the ground. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine…"

"The way you were cowering? You are not." Dominic cowered when he said it.

"He…ya know how it feels to have yer mind probed?" He shuddered. "It…he… He kept diggin' and diggin' until he had what he wanted, and it took a long ass time to get there." His eyes were wide from the memory of intense agony when he looked up. "There are lots of good people with the rebels, ya know. People that jus' wanted the protection. Is Alakazam really gonna slaughter them all?"

"He wants to," Reyes said in a low voice. "But I won't let that happen." Dominic let out a hard breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

"You…you, Sceptile…" His left ear twitched and swiveled to the right. "He's coming!" He was pulling Reyes' arm hard. "We've gotta—"

They broke apart as a column of flames burst between them, rising high into the air and singeing Reyes' skin. Dominic was quick on all fours as he darted under Reyes, causing him to get tangled in his mane, and sped past an ensuing torrent of fire that cut through the gravel like butter. Reyes tried to get as comfortable as possible on Dominic's back, which only meant he wasn't going to fall off in the next second.

"Head for the water!" Dominic's ear flicked to show he heard and he cut through onto the street heading west. As soon as they were in plain sight, the earth began to rumble ominously, and even Dominic wasn't fast enough to outrun a wave of energy that shredded the concrete and sent them rolling. He and Dominic shook it off quickly and raised their heads to the source of the impact, where Alakazam hovered and held his spoons crossed in front of his face. Energy was building in front of him and coalescing into a tiny white ball.

"Dominic—"

"Reyes—"

They looked at each other and nodded once.

Alakazam's Hyper Beam was a herald of death on a different plane than his psychic abilities. It _obliterated_ the city block, disintegrating brick and asphalt until only a very smooth layer of dirt and pebbles remained several dozen feet below with a thin view of a canal cutting through. The two of them performed Protect at the last second, but even that only meant so much in the face of such raw power: they were sent backwards and crashed into each other, leaving Dominic to fall into the new ravine and Reyes to slam into a metal power pole with the full momentum of his attack. The steel dented around the shape of his body and he fell face-first into the last remaining chunk of sidewalk. It hurt, everything hurt beyond words, but he didn't have the luxury of seething. At least Alakazam would have to recharge.

Dominic's low moans echoed upwards, gradually increasing in volume. "D-Damn it…couldn't jus' be a Munna or somethin'…hadda be 'n Alakazam…"

Reyes looked over the damage caused before setting his eyes on Alakazam, gritting his teeth so hard it hurt. "You _bastard._"

_All for the greater good, _Alakazam said into his mind. Reyes supposed they had less than a minute before the onslaught continued, and he forced himself onto his hands and knees. Dominic returned to the surface and collapsed onto his belly with all the breath whooshing out of his lungs. It took more effort than Reyes thought he had left, but he pushed himself up to his feet and stumble-walked over to him.

"Dominic, come on…" He grunted at the effort to crouch down, slinging one of Dominic's arms over his shoulders.

"Reyes…" Dominic sniffed and rubbed his nose, streaking blood across his fur. "We can't win against him."

"We can't. So we run."

The only advantage that came with was a lot of pain was Reyes' Ability kicked in. He had an easy time creating a network of vines around Alakazam's figure, and since Alakazam was unable to fight them off, he was quickly encapsulated by layer upon layer of inches-thick greenery. When he was satisfied with the security of it, Reyes pulled Dominic along an undamaged road. It was slow going and every second felt like an eternity, but finally they ended up in the main plaza overlooking the docks. Pokémon instantly looked up at their presence, no doubt having heard the commotion they'd created.

"Reyes…?" Azalea's voice was quiet from shock as she looked between him and Dominic, eyes wide. His heart constricted and Dominic murmured a curse.

"Azalea, look—"

He felt a painful shock of energy run through his skull. Simultaneously, the revolutionaries around them looked up to something he couldn't see or hear. In the next second, they dropped whatever they were doing to begin advancing on the two of them. Dominic backed away, glancing at Reyes, but he couldn't focus on him. The revolutionaries formed a wave to lunge at them, the ground rumbling from Alakazam's immense energy—

_—__and the dirt quaking beneath his feet stole his focus from the scene ahead. What he could see of it through the massive amounts of dust in the air was not pretty. He blinked, rubbing his eyes furiously to clear them as a tight grip appeared on his arm. He was pulled away from the action as Brendan's Gardevoir, Azalea, led him to the side. Her large scarlet eyes were narrowed with worry. She pulled him away just as a humungous ball of red and orange fire slammed into the ground, decimating it until a large crater was left. "Pay more attention, Reyes." Her mouth was set in a grim line as she led him around to a half-destroyed Pokémart. An indistinct song occasionally shrieked out a few notes from the broken speakers, and a smashed fridge created a consistent stream to their side._

_"__I…I'm trying, Lea, but it's all so—" He covered his ears briefly as a _boom!_ sounded from across Fortree City, felling yet another tree. Screams rose up alongside its impact, quickly followed by loud, disjointed sobs. "overwhelming," his teeth were a cage his voice strained through. Her brow furrowed with sympathy, but they were distracted by a sound worryingly reminiscent of a child's crying._

_"__Come on! We have to find Brendan!" She grabbed his arms and shook some sense into him. He covered his eyes for a moment, taking deep, shaky breaths. "You're the one he trusts most, Reyes. He needs _you!_"_

_"__You…You're right, you're right. Thank you, Azalea." She smiled, then she gasped and pulled him to her chest as a bolt of lightning struck feet away from them. He felt his skin get charred from the intense heat, but he could regrow it easily. "I hope…we can both make it through," he said to Azalea._

_"__Me too," she replied, releasing him. Not a second later a Mawile's huge jaws clamped around her body, her eyes widening in alarm. Reyes grabbed her arms, pulling her back, but the Mawile was like a dog with a bone. She cried in pain, and he realized at that moment that it was smarter to let go of her. The Mawile pulled her away—_

"You stupid Sceptile, snap out of it!" Dominic shouted, clutching Reyes' forearm hard enough to dig into his skin.

"This is…just like…back then…" His throat was so dry it felt as if it had been razed by Groudon's claws. His heart was racing and he could barely focus on the scene ahead of him. "Just like…"

"Oh, _god,_" he complained, grabbing Reyes' shoulders and spinning him around. He nodded once, then jumped to ram his forehead into Reyes'. The pain made him cry out but returned him to the present moment. "This is no time for it. Let's get out of here!" He turned to the others and raised his arms. A wall of hellfire erupted between them and the revolutionaries. He pushed Reyes backwards and they started running, heading back to the port. On the ledges leading to the piers, the King stumbled, and Reyes caught his arm before he fell face-first into the rocks.

"Are you ok—"

"You're the biggest fucking idiot I know!" he yelled over Reyes' concerns. He spun around and punched him in the chest, knocking the breath from his lungs, then shook his hand out with a clipped whine. "You should've just gone with it. You should have kept your stupid mouth shut. Now Alakazam—one of the worst possible Pokémon to get on the bad side of—and his _whole_ _gang_ of happies are after your ass. God-fucking-dammit, Reyes, why are you so _nice!?_"

"You know…that's the first time you've said my name." It was the first thing that struck him. The King frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"Shut up."

"Why do you care what happens to me anyway?" He shook his mane out and chuffed.

"Because—" He turned, eyes scanning the water, and finally pointed out a small motorboat. "—you're the first person in a long time to risk yourself for me, and I'm…indebted." They hopped and skidded down the ledges as the revolutionaries advanced, headed by none other than Alakazam himself.

"Reyes, why _you?_" he called, a genuine expression of disappointment on his face. "You're one of my most passionate revolutionaries, always looking to help the people. Why are you _hurting_ them now by aiding this one?"

"First of all, we're the _people's_ revolutionaries, not yours," Reyes called back, feeling a bit of his self-assurance return. "And while it's certainly _crazy,_ I know I'm still working _for_ the people, unlike you." Azalea's small distressed noise brought his attention back to her and he bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Azalea, and Louis too, but…" He backed away, stepping onto the pier and unravelling the motorboat's knot. Suddenly there was a strong Psychic-type grip on him, not just one but two Pokémon's energy. He felt himself being lifted, and he probably would've been tossed into the water like a rock if Dominic hadn't taken his arm, cancelling the energy transfer. They jumped onto the boat and Dominic immediately fired up the motor. It spat water out angrily as it worked, then they were tearing away from Ever Grande City.

_You won't get away, Reyes, Dominic. It may not be today, may not be tomorrow, may not even be next week, but eventually, we _will_catch you two, and your penance will be slow and painful._

"What are you thinking about?" Dominic asked. Reyes sat down on the bench, clenching his hands to prevent them from shaking. Alakazam's ethics had gone to shit—or maybe he didn't have them to begin with, from the sounds of things—but one way or another, he still had all the others fooled. God, he loathed to think he'd have to fight any of his old friends, and if he ever had to go face-to-face with Alakazam, he'd be kissing his ass goodbye in an interdimensional second.

"I hate to say it, but now I'm just like you."

"Huh?" Reyes raised his head, a dark smile on his face.

"We're both enemies of the world."


	10. 21 Can It Be Real?

**2.1. Can It Be Real?**

"What are you doing?" Reyes asked, coming up behind him.

"Catching fish!" Dominic replied, leaning off the shore to glare into the foaming river. Reyes sighed as per usual whenever Dominic talked. He was starting to suspect it was an allergic reaction.

"The water has too many rapids for—"

"There are fish down there, I feel it in my gut!" Reyes sighed even louder—an _acute _allergic reaction.

"No, that's the feeling of your stomach eating itself. Eat some Berries before you pass out."

"Shove it! Who asked for yer input?" He finally spotted a Remoraid zipping by and dunked his head under. He not only missed, but it bit his nose too. He came up snorting watery blood and flailing until Reyes bonked him on the crown of his head.

"Did you catch it?" he asked with a note of sardonic humor. Dominic growled and shoved his claws into the water only to get slammed by a Relicanth.

"Stupid rock fish," he grumbled, rubbing his bruised paw.

"Look, Dominic, the sun is setting and we've got to pick a tree or a burrow or something for the night." Reyes rubbed his face and let his arms drop like they were made of lead. Dominic noticed that the edges of his leaf blades were browning, becoming crispy and breaking away. "Oh, man, this is a pain."

"What, are you expiring or something?"

"Stress is bad for my system, as I _am_ a plant. It should wear off in a few hours."

"Should," he repeated.

"Oh, don't worry about it." He started checking the insides of various rocky cliffs while Dominic tried the trees. Neither found a vacant space after two hours. When they came together again, Dominic noticed that the sickness was in Reyes' other set of blades too, although he tried to hide it. How did you help a plant anyway? The Pokémon Center wasn't an option considering where they were, and although Dominic had a lot of things tucked away in his mane, plant food wasn't one of them.

He also couldn't help but feel at fault for Reyes' weakness. After all, it was because of him that Reyes mouthed off on Alakazam to begin with and consequently lost his home, friends, everything. For three weeks they'd been skipping across out-of-the-way isles to keep in hiding, but it only worked part of the time. Although he was good at hiding it, Dominic knew Reyes was sick with worry, and now he was sick with sickness and Dominic wanted to jump into the river.

"Where do we sleep?" Dominic asked. It didn't matter to him very much considering he was nocturnal, but if Reyes needed to sleep at night, he would roll with it. It was the least he could do after _condemning him._

"I'm not… Wait, I'm sure I saw a meadow somewhere." He pushed forward through some thick shrubbery, which ended in a row of oaks and pines before leading to a virtual sea of green grass almost as tall as him.

"Aren't there wild Pokémon in here?" Dominic asked, then he sneezed, and sneezed again.

"The grass is a species that most flesh and blood is allergic to, and from what I've heard, Ghost-types don't like the feel of it. We'll be safe enough here." He started stepping on the grass, clearing out a flattened bed of it.

"But—" He sneezed again, grabbing his runny nose. "I'll _die!_"

"On the contrary, this isn't deadly."

"No, but… Oh!" He pulled a gas mask from his mane and attached it to his muzzle. "Better!" Reyes gave him an even look.

"I'm sure you didn't have that when we entered Ever Grande."

"I'm only borrowin' it. I'll return it when I'm dead." He also removed a bright purple sleeping bag and offered it to Reyes.

"Did you…_ahem_…borrow that too?"

"Maybe?"

"Yeah, I'll pass." Dominic shrugged and curled up to sleep, but he couldn't and not only because it was nighttime. His mind felt full to bursting. Okay, it usually didn't matter, and in fact it wouldn't have mattered two months ago, but it was different now: he was dragging Reyes into his mess now. _That_ wouldn't even have mattered two months ago—hell, he would've _wished_ he could turn the revolutionaries all helter-skelter—but Reyes was different than just some revolutionaries. Even knowing about him, Reyes went all the way with him and even betrayed his friends. _For what?_ There was a time that he thought he was the only one that could hear the voices of Hell—now, Reyes was close to that line too.

"Reyes…can you go?"

"You're conscious of me sleeping with you," he said dubiously. Dominic retreated slightly into his sleeping bag.

"Not because of that… I want you to go back and tell Alakazam that you were under my illusion. He's likely to take you back." He heard Reyes roll over to look at the back of his head.

"I don't understand you. Why is it that now, _now_, you seem to have a heart?"

"Because I can't!" His voice startled away the nearby foraging Pokémon but he couldn't bring himself to care. He wanted to bitch and moan but what right did he have to do so after effectively screwing Reyes over? He didn't deserve his kindness, he didn't deserve _any _of this, especially not the quiet peace he got from being with another living being. "I'm a killer! A destroyer! An all-around piece of shit! I don't deserve to think of anything but a burning death in the near future!" Tears rolled down his cheeks and he covered his face with his arms.

"Do you remember that little girl from Slateport, the one with the Frisbee?" Reyes asked out of the blue. Dominic sniffled.

"W-Why?"

"You didn't kill her, nor did you break her Frisbee or attack her Mudkip."

"I… You told me to return it…"

"And since when have you ever listened to me?"

"I…dunno…"

"That means you cared at least a little, right?"

"I guess…" He didn't feel convinced and Reyes shook his head a little.

"You had a family, Dominic, and you honestly said that you loved them… Why do you hate humans now?"

"I don't hate humans, I hate what I _do_ to them." He remembered Ali, then Steven, and even those two guys from Rustboro. Every time he dealt with humans they died, and he just didn't think that the world should lose so much, especially in those times. "The King, he hates humans though. He's this big impossible—impossible monster, because-because how do you beat yer own mind? But I've given up at this point. I know I can't be saved, so I'd rather that ya save yerself."

"Maybe you can't be saved, and maybe it's smarter that I save myself, but at this point it's clear that I've abandoned logic." Dominic looked over his shoulder and saw Reyes sitting up, a smirk on his face. "You're an insane, twisted bastard and you kill when I don't want you to and you make stupid choices and you're more likely than not wasting precious oxygen and sustenance with your very presence…but."

"But?" Reyes laughed bitterly.

"You've opened my eyes, King. In some sick way, I'm glad to have met you."

"Reyes—" He choked on the word, killing Reyes' laughter instantly. "I screwed up. I screwed _your_ life up. How can you be _happy_—in any way—" Tears rolled down his cheeks as his insecurities finally reached a head. "An-and you're gettin' sick on top of it all."

Reyes cringed and turned his leaf blades away from Dominic's sight. "I told you, it's—"

"Yer gunna die cuz of me!" he wailed. Reyes groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"Stop being so dramatic, Dominic." He reached out and rested his hand on Dominic's head. Dominic moved from his grip with a whine. "Why are you blaming yourself?"

"Honestly, if it had been any other rebel there under Alakazam's thumb, you wouldn't'a given him the time of day. But cuz it was me, you did." Reyes smiled a little.

"That's what you're blaming yourself for? You're a bigger idiot than I thought." Dominic chuffed and flopped on his face. "I'll admit, I wouldn't have turned my world on its ass for just anyone, but either way, I have _morals. _Something I thought Alakazam had too until today. I would have reacted the same in any situation. And in any situation, I still would have fought to help you." Dominic looked up to see him staring. He patted Dominic's head again, and this time he leaned into the contact. It was warm.

"So what?"

"I don't know," he said plainly. "We're taking things one step at a time now."

"Yer still gunna die, and it'll still be my fault," he said seriously. Reyes snorted and lay down, turning his back to Dominic.

"In case you hadn't noticed, you haven't succeeded in killing me yet."

* * *

He didn't remember until it was too late, the effect he had when sleeping too close to others. He woke up because he heard some noise and turned over to see Reyes' face twisted in pain, tears falling down his face. Dominic sat up, amazed, then annoyed with himself. He always brought out the dark of people's hearts. "Sorry," he muttered, taking up his sleeping bag and sifting through the grass to sleep a couple dozen feet away, except he couldn't really get back to sleep because the night had reached its peak.

He barely even closed his eyes before a voice pierced his thoughts: "What would Blaziken think of all of this?"

"Be quiet, you," Dominic muttered, squeezing his eyes shut tighter. The King crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed at Dominic's attitude, and kicked his side. Dominic still refused to respond until the King pushed him hard enough to send him rolling across the dirt. "Hey!"

"I asked you a question and I expect it to be answered." Dominic exhaled through his nose.

"Leave me alone."

"He'd kill you," he said in a loud voice, crouching at Dominic's hip. "And burn you until there's nothing left."

"Be quiet."

"And if there's nothing left, who will help your friend?" His voice turned mocking and Dominic gritted his teeth.

"What?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Things never change with us even if we think otherwise." Their eyes strayed to the Pokémon who risked it all to save their sorry ass.

"I like Reyes," he mumbled. "And I wish he'd turn tail and save himself, but he's too…good for that, uh-huh. I can't make him do it if he doesn't wanna."

"Well, try harder!" His lips pulled back from his teeth and his hair stood on end. Dominic blinked slowly, then understanding dawned on him.

"_You_…are scared…for Reyes."

"You're a fucking idiot," he retorted, folding his arms and jerking his body around to put his back to Dominic. "…You're scared for him, and I'm you."

"Uh-huh…" He couldn't help sounding a little giddy about it. Evidently, it was the wrong thing to say.

"Throw a motherfuckin' parade. The King has fallen so low as to worry to death over one stupid Sceptile."

Dominic sighed. "What do we do?"

"I…don't know." He chuffed, then his shoulders hunched, but it didn't hide his trembling. "I don't know, Dominic. I don't know."


	11. 22 Confirmation to Love

**2.2. Confirmation to Love**

Of course, Dominic couldn't really sleep through the night, and only when the sun rose could he finally slip into real sleep, however Reyes spurred him back to life to keep moving. "Nooo!" he wailed, wind-milling his arms as he tried to ground himself.

"God, we don't have _time_ for this Dominic. We're risking being found." He wrapped his arms around Dominic's chest to pull him up. Dominic shouted and kicked and threw a fit, but Reyes was strong enough to keep hold and smart enough to avoid eye contact.

"This is abuse!"

"So? It's not like you actually possess any rights." His ear twitched at the insult, then twitched again when he picked up an odd sound.

"W-Wait, lemme go! I hear something!"

"Really?" he said, so obviously unconvinced.

"I swear!" Reyes dropped him, causing Dominic to fall on his back. "Ouch."

"Is it a single Pokémon or multiple?"

"Can't tell…" He raised his head and noticed that Reyes' leaf blades hadn't healed at all and were in fact half eaten away. "You can't fight with those."

"I don't need to. I have a collection of tricks." He said that, but he looked tired too, and not just because he didn't sleep that much. Dominic doubted his ability to effectively defend himself but there was no time left for arguing. He felt his fur bristle as something big grew near, but he couldn't see anything. Maybe it was a Kecleon, or maybe it was some bird flying high. Or maybe his paranoia was growing to incredible levels and he imagined hearing anything at all.

The ocean itself quaked, then he saw several red runes glow vibrantly beneath the surface. The sheer strength and size of the Pokémon had him reeling and he was certain that it hadn't even grown within one hundred feet of them. He grabbed Reyes' arms and hauled him back from the shore, then he put up a camouflaging illusion around the both of them. "What are you doing?" Reyes demanded. He didn't even have the strength to sound angry at Dominic, which meant that the situation was damn dire.

"There's something real big and dangerous down there—"

"What, someone of your family?"

"Not time for jokes!" His illusion flickered, which he felt before he saw. He was running out of energy—not good.

That thing finally surfaced, and the sight of it took Dominic's breath away. It was Kyogre, it had to be. Dominic didn't have a Pokédex memory, but hell, it was the same size, had the same marks—if it looked like a Ducklett, quacked like a Ducklett, smelled like a Ducklett, tasted like a Ducklett, it sure as hell wasn't a Pidgey. That Kyogre looked at them with glowing blue eyes, and Dominic damn near pissed himself when he thought that it was all over, then he hated himself for fearing death, but that was more of a reflex and pretty damn unimportant—

That Kyogre's mouth opened, and out came a Gabite. It _looked_ normal, but hell, it couldn't have been…? The Kyogre beached itself, then before their eyes it shifted from a massive behemoth of a Pokémon into a tiny Ditto, then that Ditto shifted again into a Raichu. Dominic couldn't believe it—he had never not once heard of a Ditto able to turn into a Legendary Pokémon. The two new Pokémon looked around curiously but Dominic's illusion barely held, masking their energy and scent.

"I thought they were here," the Ditto said to the Gabite. He snarled in response.

"They are."

"Maybe Alakazam was—" Alakazam. Of course.

"_You_ can say he's wrong to his face—_I'm_ going to look."

"Wait. Hey, wait!" Azure looked around, then it reverted into a Ditto before turning into a Zoroark, which made Dominic doubly nervous. It sniffed the air, taking a few steps away from Dominic and Reyes, giving him a false sense of hope before Azure flashed back and cut right through Dominic's illusion and into his chest. Dominic jumped backwards reflexively but the damage had already been dealt, warm blood soaking into his fur. "They were just hiding," it said, turning back into a Ditto.

Dominic coughed, feeling dizzy from loss of blood, not that he had much to spare to begin with. His reflexes had saved him from organ injury, which was great, but Azure damaged an artery and some ribs by the feel of it. "Yer not takin' us…no way no how."

"You're in no condition to protest." Gabriel marched past his friend to knock Dominic aside. He fell on his back and couldn't sit up again, his one attempt making him cringe and whine and curl up pitifully. Gabriel stood against Reyes, who was still weakened, and the two sized each other up. Dominic realized how alike they were in terms of aura. "How far thou hath fallen," he said derisively. "Last time I checked, you seemed highly focused on _helping_ the revolutionaries."

"Things change," Reyes said scathingly. "Alakazam has changed, you know."

"No, I don't know. And you're a terrible liar." He breathed a wild stream of fire that went wide across the field. Reyes dodged to the side and Dominic started to roll away, then Azure's big Makuhita hand clapped down on him, pinning him.

"Yer real powerful for a paint splatter," Dominic said to it.

"Oh, haven't heard _that_ one before." And for a paint splatter, Azure was annoyingly chipper.

"Bastard! If you had eyes—"

"You'd claw them out, then you'd rip off my arms and beat me with them," it finished in that same bright tone. "Those, I've heard already. I'm not that popular, y'know."

"Hard to believe."

"It is," it agreed sincerely. Okay, that Ditto was a moron…well, ironically, now he knew Reyes' pain. The moral of the story, however, was that the two of them were now in a very tight spot: Dominic was semi-incapacitated, and Reyes was freaking wilting. If he could reach the Potion in his mane (that he _borrowed_ from the revolutiona—wait, why did he care? They were trying to kill them anyway) he could at least stop the bleeding, which was getting worse with the sun frying the edges of the wound. He couldn't heal naturally like that, even if he used Recover or something. Dominic squeezed his eyes shut, fearing what surely was inevitable.

Okay, okay, time to think… He could use another illusion, but he was too weak to make a strong one—that Gabriel guy didn't look like the type to fall for parlor tricks, and Azure could just turn into a Zoroark and break it again. He didn't have much left in the physical department either, what with his lungs oozing out of his ribcage and all. That took a lot from his repertoire, but he still had a mane full of junk. _Okay, okay, time to think harder. What's in my mane? I got board games, pinecones, might have a Pineco, my cell—_

Perfect!

He rolled onto his side and, grimacing internally at what he was about to do, crunched on Azure's leg. It jumped back, startled, and kept jumping and stomping when Dominic didn't let go. His arms were freed, but that wouldn't mean anything if he was crushed under foot like a rogue bug. He grabbed Azure's thick leg and, digging his heel in the dirt, gathered all the energy he could to push it backwards and down, emitting darkness as he went to strengthen his attack.

Azure grunted and flopped onto its back. Unlike the rest of its body, those particular muscles weren't strong, making it look like a beached Wailmer. Dominic almost had a good laugh before the air shifted behind him. He swerved out of the way as Gabriel's claws came flashing by as fast as lightning.

"I hate haircuts," Dominic told him, taking out his cellphone. Gabriel was unamused, baring his claws and lunging forward. Now, Dominic wasn't a genius like Reyes, but when it came to finding weaknesses, his predatory nature made that too easy—_well, I'd be better with a full body of blood, but nitpicks, nitpicks, _he thought, dancing just out of Gabriel's reach again. It wasn't nearly as easy as he made it look since even though he was faster than Gabriel naturally, he was still lightheaded and starting to see double actually… _But_ Ground-types were highly attuned to sound, more specifically _vibrations_ of sound—they had to be to move as well as they did beneath the surface. So, a little tweaking, a little more dodging, a little bit of searching his playlist and—

"Yes!" he cried in excitement as a heavy metal rendition of _Sleep My Caterpie_ blasted from his phone. "I love this one!"

Gabriel didn't share his sentiments. The volume and vibrations of the song had him on his knees in pain, struggling to dig beneath the grass. Dominic kicked him down, music still blaring, then gave him a knockout blow on the back of his head. Dominic wanted to celebrate—it had been a _long_ time since he himself fought and not he-who-shall-not-be-named-nor-even-acknowledged-even-though-_he_-in-question-was-a-figment-of-Dominic's-psyche—but Reyes was pretty much dying behind him, so…

"Need some help?" Dominic grinned, offering his claws.

"Damn you and your help," Reyes grumbled in response, but he took the offer anyway. It didn't look like he could stand up by himself in any case, and even when he did his legs shook slightly as they started browning too.

"How do I fix this?"

"The sun will work," he said almost obstinately.

"Photosynthesis? But you need, like, food and water?" Reyes didn't respond, then he clenched his jaw and pushed Dominic backwards until he fell on his back. Half a second later, a big purple blob splattered all over him. Dominic thought that that old paint splatter came back for a second round, then he realized that it was a different color, kind of like a… "Grimer. Goddamn," he swore, jumping backwards.

"Gotta admit, you were pretty smart to get me on my back," Azure said, its voice sounding bubbly and disgusting. "I know I'm not too much of a genius—sorta a side effect of my brain cells being all over the place—but I came up with my own idea: pickin' off the weaker guy." Reyes fell over, Azure slopping its goopy body all over his. As a plant, that had to be twice as bad as normal.

Dominic growled, fur bristling. He couldn't grab it obviously, but he couldn't let it stay on Reyes either. In his state, Dominic did a pretty pathetic Flamethrower, but still, the embers set the noxious gas Azure was releasing on fire. The little blasts connected one after another until it caught on fire. It quickly detached from Reyes, splattering on the ground and killing the grass and flowers instantly. Dominic took a car's antenna (that was also borrowed from the revolutionaries—and yes, he was petty enough to deprive them of their usual jams and radio stars' rants) from his mane and, electrifying it with Hidden Power, stabbed it into Azure's body. It cried weakly before turning back into a Ditto, the shocks surging through its plasmatic body, then it fell limp like a big wad of pink.

"…Reyes?" he asked tentatively, poking Reyes with the antenna. His green skin was tinted purple from the poison and he was sweating chlorophyll. "Okay, you need a Pokémon Center. Immediately."

"You…think?" he said between breaths, pushing himself up with his arms. Dominic tried to touch him but Reyes fended him off. "You'll…you'll get Poisoned too…"

"But I can't help you otherwise!"

"An…tidote…"

"That's the one thing I didn't steal… I didn't think we'd need it!" he said in response to Reyes' expression. "Yeah, yeah, I know, 'Smart move bastard.'" He offered his claws again. "But I'm not gonna leave you here. We fight together, we stay together, y'know?"

"I appreciate…sentiment, but if you…get poisoned…chances are…just die here." Dominic winced. "Go…deeper…search plants…find antidote…come back…fast…"

Dominic started to turn around but stopped, fur bristling. "I can't just leave you here like this…" He tried to make another illusion, but his injury still bothered him. He had to regain his energy before he could do anything else. Dominic took a deep breath and left Reyes there to venture further on the islet.

He trudged through a small but thick forest near the center of the islet, his healing accelerated by the large trees blocking sunlight. Although that did help one problem, he still needed food and, to a lesser extent, fresh water. Because he was so used to catching his prey he couldn't tell a milkweed from a weed weed, which ruled out eating any plants. There was also a great lack of ripe Berries due to the abundance of foragers in the area. He followed the trees forward until he noticed their roots spreading out less and less. From his limited knowledge of plants, that meant that there was more water nearby. After what felt like eons, he reached a pond in a clearing with little Magikarp and Feebas and Linoone and Poochyena and god was he drooling as much as he thought he was?

It took maybe two minutes for him to eat his fill, and when his stomach was nearly full he drank the clean water until he was sure he wouldn't need to eat for the next week or so. He dug around in his mane for a little until he found a couple of Potions. They healed his wounds into ugly scar tissue (more rocks on a mountain at this point), and he used the emptied bottles and gathered as much water and close-to-ripe Berries as he could before jogging back the way he came, working not to trip over any roots even though he was spilling water with every step he took.

It took him less time to make it back to the shore, but Reyes looked like he was pushing the boundary. His seed pods had fallen off and shriveled and he was barely breathing. Dominic tried to get him to eat and drink but he refused, his unfocused gaze landing on the sparkling ocean. "I can…barely…talk…swallow…no…" he whispered.

"Reyes, you can't be giving up. You _can't_." Reyes started to speak but seemingly lost the energy for it, his eyes closing.

_My fault—_ _It's my fault all over again— Reyes was the first guy to care about me…the first guy to care about me in _years_…and because of that he'll die as an enemy of the world._

Azure groaned. Dominic had no idea it was still alive. It gathered itself back into that stupidly resilient blob form and spat a wad of red plasma onto the grass. "That sure hurt…" It looked at Dominic and blinked its tiny black eyes. "That face you're making is—" It didn't get to finish before Dominic grabbed hold of it. It tried to squirm free, but every time Dominic grabbed hold again. "Dude, just chill," it said. Dominic released it then and, walking over to its friend Gabriel, grabbed hold of his dorsal fin and ripped it off in one move. Gabriel groaned in pain, crimson stains appearing beneath his tough hide, but Dominic tore it away as easily as if it was grass…like Reyes. "No! Gabriel!" it cried, transforming. Dominic pulled away from Gabriel at record speed, even by Zoroark standards, and grabbed Azure's still-forming arm.

"Ack! Leggo!" Azure yelled, unable to revert the arm as long as Dominic held onto it. He clenched his claws, tearing away the soft pink skin and small feathers that it was forming and causing its thick blood to stain the ground too. He heard Gabriel staggering behind him and swept to the side in time to avoid his heavy claws. Without his fin he lacked balance, making his attacks rely on dumb luck and too much strength. He exerted his Dragon-type energy and lashed at Dominic, but he repelled Gabriel's claws easily with his Dark-type energy and pushed him away, then coated his own claws in Ghost-type energy and stabbed them into Azure, whose partial Flying-type made it vulnerable. The energy coated its body and stole away its life force, which was the nasty tendency with Ghost-type attacks.

"Azure!" Gabriel shouted, furiously trying to hit Dominic. He tossed Azure's emptied body away and dodged, backing away as Gabriel swung with furious tears in the corners of his eyes. "Why—can't—I—touch you—say—some—thing—al—ready—!" Dominic seized Gabriel's left claws, then his right when he attacked again, and leaned in close enough that he could count his scales. He watched the defiant look in Gabriel's eyes slowly morph into dread, his breath quickening at the thought of the inevitable. For the first time since Rustboro, the flurry of voices in his mind ceased.

He left the remains somewhere out of plain sight and returned to Reyes. He was barely conscious now, eyes closed. Dominic used his bloody claws to pull Reyes' mouth open and forced him to swallow some water and a few Berries. He started gagging, nearly choking, but they made the way down. He rolled onto his side as the holes where his pods were started blooming with little flowers. He choked before pulling himself up to his knees and gagging a stream of purplish-green chlorophyll and poison.

"Ugh…thanks a lot…" he said once he was done, his voice ragged. His complexion had improved but he still had an unhealthy pallor. Dominic closed Reyes' mouth and nodded. He took Reyes' arm and slung him over his back, then he started trudging to their boat. The closest city was Sootopolis—not that Dominic could go there—but they could make it to Mossdeep with a little luck, trauma be damned. He rested Reyes carefully in the boat and climbed in front of the engine. The sound of it was maddening in the silence.

"You're so…all of a sudden…" Reyes was muttering, adjusting himself so that his back was propped up against the bench. "So quiet…when I finally…want you to talk…" He just looked at the water as the boat cut through it. "Dominic…"

"I don't know how we'll pull this off," Dominic muttered. "B…But we'll do it—yeah, we'll do it, cuz together, we're…"

"Enemies of…the world," he finished.

"Yeah, but the good kind." Reyes made a derisive sound. "What? I mean, we are." Again, there was silence. "I don't know much about you."

"Doesn't matter."

"I mean, well, I poured my heart out before." Reyes' head rolled to the side but it was entirely voluntary.

"It's not…not a good…story… I wa…was once…like…you." Reyes' speech was getting slower and more slurred; Dominic's turned agitated.

"What? You were like me?"

"Didn't give a damn…about my life…" Dominic looked at the sky. The sun was still hot enough to make his skin tingle, so it should've been making Reyes better, at least gradually. Dominic tried to get him to drink some more water but Reyes just choked on it. He suddenly doubled over with a coughing fit, and when he straightened up Dominic could see more chlorophyll and poison staining his hands. "Things…are different now, though."

"How so?"

"Even if…they hate me now, I still… I still have things to live for—" He doubled over again over the side of the boat, this time to throw up. Dominic quickly sat down next to the engine, gunning it. The dark spread of water of Sootopolis City was right next to them, but Dominic wasn't going to risk his life sneaking past their security. Although he hadn't given Blaziken a piece of his mind like Reyes did, bringing a revolutionary into their home base would bring him down to that level of hate. Besides that, when Alakazam acted upon his plans and went for the rebels, using information that only a rebel could know to get to them, Dominic would absolutely be on their hit-list then.

"We'll make it, we will," Dominic muttered, more to himself than Reyes, who was pretty much dying before his eyes. Dominic took a flyswatter from his mane and slapped Reyes with it. Reyes still didn't wake up. "Wake up! Wake up up up!" Dominic ditched the swatter and grabbed his shoulders, ignoring the burning sensation of poison on his skin. "_Wake up!_" he shouted, shaking him hard enough that his head flipped back and forth. He eventually hissed and withdrew his claws. Although he wasn't as severely affected as a Grass-type, the poison had burned away the fur and skin on his hands, causing them to bleed out and certainly giving him more than a few infections.

"…nic…" Dominic aimed his ears forward, trying to catch Reyes' quiet voice. "T…Tell Aza…I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… And if you…you ever see…Lilly…sorry, too…"

"No…no…" Dominic hadn't felt sadness in a long time, so the weird caving-in feeling in his chest confused him. "You'll tell 'em yourself, Reyes! Trust me!"

"A while ago…I wouldn't have…" His voice trailed away as his head lolled to the side.

"Reyes… Reyes!" He hated to do it, but he decked Reyes in the face, watching his head go from side to side with no response. He stopped after what seemed like forever, his paws bloody and burnt. Reyes wasn't moving at all. Physically and mentally numb to pain, Dominic looked out to the horizon. He could see the Mossdeep Space Center, which meant that they were close, but what good would that do them now?

"_AGAAH!_" he shouted to the sky, pulling his ears hard enough to bring white spots to his vision. He continued screaming his frustrations until his lungs and ribs ached like hell and his throat felt like it would explode in a bloody mess. Whatever, he felt a tiny bit better. But Reyes didn't, which made him feel shitty all over again. A stupid boat in the middle of nowhere, the whole of the revolutionaries on his ass, was not how Reyes was supposed to die. Yet there he was, dying, and Dominic couldn't do a damn thing about it.

He froze, shoulders tensed, and looked at Reyes again. "…Maybe there's something," he muttered, standing. He felt woozy, but it was still child's play for him to smash the boat apart.


	12. 23 No Game, No Restarts

**2.3. No Game, No Restarts**

Reyes could feel his body again, but that didn't mean he could move it. It was a big shame too, because there was an annoying beeping sound that was giving him the mother of all migraines… He gasped and opened his eyes in a rush, remembering everything that happened with a jolt of alarm. Aside from a lingering soreness in every movable part of his body, he was okay—more than that, he was still alive, which was always a win in his book. He turned his head as best he could and saw that he was in a Pokémon Center room. If he had to guess, he was in Mossdeep; it made sense considering that that was where they were headed last. He was lying on a bed with water being transferred intravenously into his wrist, and the beeping noise was coming from a heart monitor.

A Chansey bustled through the door, startling him slightly. He followed her with his eyes as she methodically adjusted things here and there, checked readings, tidied this and that, and it was when she was refilling the water supply that her eyes met his. She gasped in surprise and he grimaced.

"I apologize," she said in a timid voice, nearly dropping the gallon of water she was holding. "How do you feel?"

"Hurts," he said through his teeth. "Everywhere."

"Well, you did just recover from a bad poisoning alongside other injuries," she pointed out as she set a wooden bowl of some sort of soup on the nightstand. "This will help with the pain, but please only drink it when you're sure you have the strength to."

"You could've just…you know…" He weakly pointed to the I.V. bag.

"This is better when eaten." She finished checking up on things and started to leave. Reyes fought to sit up as realization struck, but quickly flopped back down with a pained grunt.

"Wait. Did you find another Pokémon with me?"

"Another Pokémon?" she repeated, confused. "No? You just washed up on the shore—you were alone with the remains of a boat. Did you have somebody with you?" He turned away to hide his concern.

"No, I was just wondering." He sighed and closed his eyes as the door shut. Dominic was gone—the issue was whether that was good or bad. Good, he saved himself and went off to sulk somewhere; bad, he didn't. With the condition he was in, he didn't have much room to worry about others, and besides, even if Dominic had somehow died, Hell would send him back in an instant for fear of his contagious stupidity. Still, he worried as per his nature, and even if he didn't worry about Dominic, there was the fact that he was back in a revolutionary-controlled city. It was a good thing that Sceptile were a common sight in Hoenn.

It took him a while, but finally he found the strength to sit up. His arms were bandaged where his leaf blades used to be, meaning that they had completely fallen off, and judging by the feel of his back, his seed pods were gone too. No matter, he would grow them back in a short while. He reached over and took the bowl that Chansey had left into his hands. It was pleasantly warm and smelled sweet, like cinnamon, but was a very thick and pale white. He took a small sip, amazed by the thin texture: it tasted like egg, better than it smelled, and it didn't take long for him to finish it. True to her word, the pain in his muscles faded to near nothingness, but he was still exhausted in more ways than one. He left the bowl on the nightstand and laid back down. Dominic, he decided, would be fine—he'd lasted as long as he had on his own, so what would a little bit more time matter…?

* * *

_Reyes was knocked onto his back yet again by Eoin. He grinned as Reyes spat out a wad of fertilized soil. "Aw, now you're full of crap too," he joked. Eoin was Brendon's Manectric, always full of energy and of pesky cereal box jokes. Even so, he was the one that always managed to lighten the mood. He was the only child among Brendan's Pokémon. If Reyes remembered correctly, he was nine in Pokémon years, making him seven years younger than Reyes. "Hey, ya know why the Ducklett crossed the road?"_

_"__Shaddup," Reyes muttered, smoothing his head leaf out between his claws. He lowered his head and Reyes wrapped his arms around Eoin's neck, allowing himself to be pulled up._

_"__You used to your body yet?"_

_"__It's a work in progress. It's still weird… Like, one day, I was a Treecko, and now I'm not. I can still barely comprehend it."_

_"__Well, it's a big deal to evolve," he said. "More so whenRIIIIIP_

Reyes jolted awake at the sound of tearing in the real world. He rolled over and spotted a dark shadow tearing at the window's curtains. "Dominic," Reyes said into the darkness.

"Ban…" There was another rip, then bright red eyes looked back at him. Reyes was instantly on edge.

"You're not Dominic."

"Banette," it said in a raspy but muffled voice. It punctuated the word with another rip on the curtains. "Ban."

Reyes sat up, becoming more aware of his missing leaf blades. He wasn't going to grow them back in the middle of the night even using Synthesis—in fact, although he did have a large move pool, they were weakened by the lack of sunlight. That Banette couldn't have picked a worse time to sneak up on him. "You're…a rebel," he realized with a jolt.

"Banette, ban," it muttered with another rip before releasing the curtain. By the movements of its glowing eyes, it looked like it was walking, yet Reyes couldn't hear any sounds. Then he shivered as it grew closer, then it was against his ear, voice clear and loud: "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE."

Reyes threw himself to the side as a distortion hit the bed, warping it inwards and twisting the metal frame into coils. He stood up and pressed himself against the wall as those red eyes appeared a couple of feet below the ceiling. He gritted his teeth and, hoisting the window open, jumped through. He was on the second floor, but he had healed enough to absorb the impact. Banette floated through the window into the moonlight's path and gave Reyes a ghastly grin before distorting the grass at his feet. He ran to the side to avoid it and scrambled up a light post to even out their heights and released Razor Leaf, but they just passed through Banette's body like air. _Ghost-type,_ he thought, working his jaw. Had he still had his blades, he could've used Night Slash or Pursuit, but without them…

"Ban!" it cried as it gathered its Ghost-type energy into a large purple ball. Reyes dodged out of the way as it struck the light post, reducing the steel to smoldering remains, and again as it melted the parking lot's asphalt. He watched Banette make a third and made a move to go backwards before he tripped over something. Reyes fell flat on his back with a _whump_ and the Shadow Ball hit him head-on. The damage was not crippling, but Ghost-type attacks had the nasty side-effect of siphoning the victim's life energy—already he could feel himself losing power. He pressed his hands to the ground and created vines just below Banette. Again, they passed through its body easily.

He growled, taking up a rock and throwing it. Amazingly, it hit Banette in the head, causing it to bob in the air like an apple in water. _Fling,_ Reyes realized, then he took up a rock in each hand and lobbed both. Banette reacted quickly this time, repelling them with distortions. Reyes needed _something_ to attack it with. The grass and the light post were burnt to crisps— Wait, that made no sense: Ghost-types corroded things, not burned them. Reyes moved behind another light post as it released another Shadow Ball. The steel heated below his claws, burning his skin, and he skipped away. Whether it was doing it on purpose or not, the Banette was superheating things—he could use that to his advantage.

"Banette?" it said in confusion as Reyes started coughing into his hands. It took a while, but he managed to expel three large seeds. He cocked his arm and tossed them at Banette with all his strength. It giggled as it distorted them, but it waited a little too long and they ended up inches from its body. The seeds exploded from the heat. They still would have blown up naturally, but if the Banette did it itself, it wouldn't have been expecting it. It was knocked from the air and hit the ground with a light _poof_. Reyes slid across the dirt to hold it down.

"Ban!" It gave Reyes the finger. Reyes used his vines to bind its limbs to the ground. After testing them for a few seconds, he was sure they would hold.

"—Where is the King?"

This time, its zipper pulled back, revealing a blue light within its mouth that was surely its life force. "DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT STUPID TRAITOR! BLABBED TO ALAKAZAM, GOT TWO OF US KILLED ALREA—" Reyes thrusted his hand into its mouth, causing it to choke and sputter, and grabbed hold of its life force. Its zipper closed around his wrist to zip shut, tearing away the skin of his arm and hand, but he pulled its life free and it fell limp. He released it to the sky and watched it disappear into the night like a Volbeat.

He walked down Mossdeep's streets in the dark night, the pavement cold beneath his feet. He stripped away the bandages to free the sprouts of leaf blades, and he could feel the flowers on his back slowly growing into seed pods. It would take a while, but if he could find a good resting spot by daytime, the process would go by quicker. That would be one of the upsides of being a plant, while the cons of poison, frost, and anatomy still existed. He watched the street lights dwindle until he was passing through a quiet residential area. The houses lights were off save for one, and although he couldn't hear any words inside he could hear laughter. It made him homesick for Ever Grande. After Brendan, they were all he had in regard to family. Now he just had Dominic—the thought made him an entirely different sort of sick, but in a sort of endearing way.

_"__What'cha readin'?" Brendan asked, sitting next to Reyes on his bed. Reyes angled the picture book so that Brendan could see it. "Hmm… A grocery store?"_

_"__They're eating plants!" he cried, appalled. Although Brendan couldn't really understand his words, he could understand Reyes._

_"__You mean the vegetables? That's normal," he laughed. Reyes pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Aw, c'mon, what's the problem? Think they'll eat you or something? Treecko doesn't taste very good, you know."_

_"__Chht," he muttered, peeved and dismayed. Brendan nudged his shoulder._

_"__Really, Rey, it's just the circle of life: people eat plants, then when the people die their bodies help feed the plants."_

_"__Really?" Reyes asked, astounded. He didn't know much of the world yet, since he was closer to hatchling than evolution, so every bit of information Brendon gave him was like a revelation from Arceus itself._

_"__Yeah, that's how it is," he grinned. "Life's learned to work itself out even without us humans messin' things up. But anyway, let's go—Mom's made salad tonight!"_

_That,_ Reyes thought, rubbing his temples, _will get annoying._


	13. 24 ZOMBIE

**2.4. ZOMBIE**

_"__Reyes."_

Reyes yawned, pushing away a crate to crawl out of his hiding place. Fortunately, nobody on the ferry spotted him, so he managed four full hours of sleep. He listened closely for footsteps outside of the storage room, and when he was sure that it was clear he pushed through the door into the wooden hallway. A lone human couple was walking the end giggling and holding hands, and he retreated into the room before they could spot him, the sight making him sick with memories. As he thought, those flashbacks were becoming annoying. Maybe it was because after so long, he was finally alone with his thoughts, and consequently, they overtook his mind whenever possible with old memories unimportant to the situation.

"Wait, did I just hear my name?" he wondered aloud, looking around the hallway again. The couple had left and so it was completely empty, even though he was certain someone else had spoken. "It sounded sort of like…" He ran down the hall and checked both corners, then he peeked onto the deck. Although they were plenty of people and Pokémon, there were no Zoroark. "He would be in the shade," he realized, and started checking the many dark corridors and corners of the boat, but still, he couldn't find Dominic. He grasped that he was making himself frantic and pounded the wall with his fist, trying to channel out his frustration.

"I'm losing focus," he muttered, pressing his fist into his cheek. "I just have to lay low on the boat until we reach Lilycove, then I can find a real hiding spot. It doesn't matter if worrying is my nature, I can't worry about—"

_"__Hey look at this!" Dominic said, pointing at Bug-type Pokémon scurrying across a tree branch. "There's Spinarak, Masquerain, Metapod, and Vivillon!"_

_"__That's impressive to you?"_

_"__Well…yeah. I enjoy the world and everything on it," he admitted. Reyes could've maybe figured that out from his overzealousness at seeing rocks and dirt. "It's just…the Legendary Pokémon have been doin' sorta a crappy job maintainin' crap, so I take what I can get, and what I can get is either some jacked-up rebel city or this kind of nature." He sat down on a flat rock and pulled his legs to his chest. "So, I try to enjoy everythin', cuz ya know what they say: ya don't appreciate somethin' 'til it's gone."_

_"__Isn't that right," Reyes agreed, sitting with him and watching the Bug Pokémon._

"—him—"

_"__Reyes, c'mon!" Lilly laughed, splashing around in the small tide pool, bringing up little Staryu and Clamperl and Luvdisc as she went. Sunny was learning how to swim in the shallow depths, but as with a lot of things, she was quickly becoming an expert. Reyes remained firmly planted on an overgrowth of bright coral nearby, but at Lilly's urging he dipped one foot in the cool, sandy seawater._

_"__There. I'm technically in the water." He saw her laugh in response, Sunny mimicking her and flapping her little flippers. The beach was filled with people and Trainers and Pokémon all enjoying the crisp summer day, Frisbees flying and grills roasting and balls bouncing and towels snapping and battles firing. A cool breeze slowly wafted down the shore, bringing with it the tang of ocean salt and the smell of contentment._

_"__Oh, don't be such a stick."_

_"__Actually, I'm a leaf, in case you've forgotten."_

_"__Daddy," Sunny pleaded, widening her large eyes at him. He tried to steel himself, but when she put on the charm, it was all over._

_"__Fine," he grumbled, dropping to the sand. It crunched wetly beneath his feet as he made his way into the deeper end of the tide pool, the water reaching just below his shoulders. Sunny plowed into his chest with a torrent of giggles, slapping her flippers against his skin in a weak attempt of a hug. He chuckled and put his arms around her, holding her tightly against him. "Are you having fun, Sunshine?"_

_"__Yeah, lots!" she said with a wide smile. "The beach is so fun, Daddy!"_

_"__Really? But the sand…and the smell of meat is _everywhere_…"_

_"__Too late," Lilly smiled. "She'll be asking to come back here all the time, and you know you can't refuse your little girl."_

_"__I can't refuse you either, Lil," he grinned, setting Sunny on Lilly's shell to bend over into the water. "I think I saw some nice shells down here…"_

"—anymore—"

His shoulder hit the wall, then he slumped down to the ground, head in his hands.

"No… I _can't_ stop caring, and that's the problem…"

* * *

Reyes was shocked by a sudden tremor in the boat's skeleton. He lurched to his feet and, wiping his face on his arm, started running in its direction. He heard and felt the sound a second time when he was halfway down, almost causing him to topple down the metal stairway. It sounded like something big was trying to puncture the ship's hull. He tried to move faster, sprinting down a long corridor leading to the boiler room. To his shock, one of the portholes burst in a shower of fiber glass, throwing him against the wall with a sudden spout of water. He hit the ground a moment later, sputtering and coughing, and another tremor hit the boat. The rest of the portholes along the corridor broke, quickly submerging it, and a klaxon began ringing throughout the ship.

"Damn it!" He took a deep breath before the hall was filled with water. He was a decent enough swimmer thanks to Lilly and Sunny, but he couldn't hold his breath forever, and even though he could take in carbon dioxide from the water, he still needed sunlight to perform photosynthesis.

A blue and grey blur raced at him from down the hall. He didn't have time to move before it collided with him and knocked him aside, bruising his ribs and stomach. He had to clench his jaw to hold in his air, and he couldn't recover before it came back. This time he gasped, his breath escaping him a flurry of bubbles. It had to be a Water-type with that kind of flexibility, but that made it harder for Reyes: if he couldn't catch up to or even see it, then he was all twelve types of damned.

Reyes tried to pump forward but he was cut off by that Pokémon again, tearing a gash in his leg and ripping some leaves from his nearly-healed tail. He tried to back up towards the stairs but that Pokémon returned, bashing him in the head so hard that he tumbled head over heels to the ground. He couldn't go _anywhere,_ which was becoming a bigger problem by the second; he was running out of air. At that point, he had a very realistic chance of drowning to death. He put his hands together and put his remaining air into extending and thickening his leaf blades until they reached the corners of the narrow hall. The Pokémon slammed into them instead of him, finally coming to a stop.

"Good job," the Sharpedo said sarcastically, teeth bared in his ever-present scowl. "Ya stopped me." Reyes tried to talk before he remembered that he was underwater. "Don't forget, yer in my territory now, Sceptile. Nothing's ever beaten me under the water." He snarled before spreading his jaws, revealing three rows of needle-like teeth, and rushed Reyes. Reyes put his arm out automatically as Sharpedo's jaws clamped down, pulling his arm away from the elbow-down but cutting into the soft skin of his mouth and cheek with his leaf blades. He gagged into the water, a stream of crimson blood running out, and smashed his tail into the wall furiously. The steel dented with a heavy groan before it split into a huge crack, the water rushing through. He slipped past Sharpedo into the opening and fell into a large storage room. Although it was empty to begin with, the water was quickly swelling within, but at least he could breathe for another two minutes. That Sharpedo landed in the shallow water, giving him about a foot of swimming space.

"You can't hit me as long as I'm not in water." Reyes drew the seaweed floating outside of the ship, forcing it through the hull and around the room like the cords of an Ariados' web. He hated to puncture the boat even more, but it restricted the Sharpedo's movements further.

"I won't let ya reach the surface!" Sharpedo attempted to run through the seaweed but Reyes was smart enough to coil them together, thickening them. He worked his leaf blades into the ceiling as the room filled with water and felt them cut into the thick steel. He felt the water displace beneath him and raised his legs in time to avoid Sharpedo's ripping jaws. He slowed to turn around, then latched firmly onto Reyes' tail, shredding his leaves and then the trunk. The Sharpedo was close enough to take a chunk out of Reyes' leg when he finally sliced through the ceiling. He punched the circle of steel loose and pitched forward to let it fall on Sharpedo, knocking him loose and causing him to spiral through the water. Reyes lifted himself into a higher-leveled room that was halfway empty, giving him enough air to breathe, but it was quickly filling from water draining in through the halls and from the holes he made. He barely got his feet on the ground before the boat gave a great and heavy groan and started tilting to the left. He lost his balance and fell through the water and against the wall, jarring his brain.

Sharpedo leapt through the hole into the air, and while Reyes was still stunned he opened his mouth and fired a beam of icy cold. Reyes' leg was practically fused to the wall with ice, then his remaining arm, trapping him under. Then the Sharpedo rushed him again, jaws dripping purple mist into the water. Having already learned his lesson about poison, Reyes used his vines to break the ice on his arm and, quickly weaving a net with them, stopped Sharpedo inches from his body. He released the net, watching Sharpedo tangle his own jaws in it, and smashed the remaining ice with his fist. He pushed back to hit one of the room's portholes, but he couldn't smash the glass on his own. Sharpedo recovered, shaking out his thick head, and rushed Reyes again. He took a head butt right in his chest, knocking his breath from his lungs, and Sharpedo slammed his tail into Reyes, slamming his back into the porthole.

Reyes grabbed Sharpedo's dorsal fin and directed him down. He made a growling noise deep in his throat while smacking Reyes in the face with his tailfin. A few seconds later, Reyes realized that Sharpedo himself wasn't growling, but the water, and in the next moment, Reyes felt an immense pressure on his back as Sharpedo fired a pressurized jet of water that launched both into the ceiling. The pain in his back added up to his lightheadedness and pain in his emptied lungs, and right when he thought he would pass out from it all, the steel gave another groan as it started to bend. He lowered his body to use his feet and vines to attack the steel, and a few moments later it finally gave, the water pushing them through a room filled with vehicles being transported across the water.

Again, he hit a ceiling, but this time the steel was thin enough that he went through with minimal pain, and finally they were in the open air, the sun beating down on his back. He released Sharpedo as his seed pods bloat and open to the sunlight, then sprouts and vines rapidly grew from the stubs of his arm and tail. Sharpedo gave a mad barking sound that was more Manectric than Sharpedo as it launched at Reyes, teeth freezing over. Reyes pushed off his back and, looping his vines in Sharpedo's mouth like reins, pulled him in a loop and slammed him down into the wooden deck, scaring the passengers that were rushing to lifeboats. The impact buried him in the boards and kept him away from the biggest source of water.

Reyes used the opportunity to retreat away from immediate danger, letting his arm and tail grow back and the rest of his injuries heal. He was close to done when he heard an awfully familiar voice, although it was so poor that he almost believed he imagined it. Almost. A Unova Pokémon in Hoenn was easy to find after all, even if said Pokémon looked like he was hit by a truck, put through a can opener, and doused in gasoline to be set on fire. The Sharpedo wriggling his way free went unnoticed in his peripheral vision.

"_Dominic!_"

"Reyes!" Dominic exclaimed, eyes lighting up. That was all he got out before Sharpedo's jaws latched onto him and the both landed in the ocean. Reyes swore to himself and ran to the protective railing, spotting the blood painting the surface. Reyes took a deep breath before leaping over the railing and into the water.

Sharpedo was trying to drag Dominic to the bottom, but he was having a tough time swimming past the debris left by the boat while keeping hold of Dominic—not that that was a real effort with how battered he was. Reyes used the seaweed again, pulling it from the sand and knotting them together to net Sharpedo, but he shredded it easily with his fins and tails and continued unhindered. Reyes swam after him, however he could feel the water pressure increase by the moment. For Dominic, it had to be unbearable. His eyes were bulging, and he tried to hold his breath even as his nose started bleeding.

_"__Reyes!"_ It sounded like Dominic, but his mouth wasn't moving—it was presumably an illusion of his voice, like earlier that day when he thought he was hearing his name. He hated to do it, but he came to a stop, watching Sharpedo move faster into the depths before swimming to the surface, pumping his tail for extra speed. Dominic's bewildered expression was priceless, but the trust that was within it conversely bewildered Reyes. That pretty much sealed the fact that from then on, Reyes would screw himself over and risk his ass several times to save Dominic's.

He put his blades together and, gathering as much strength in his legs as he could, dove back down. The blades extended and hardened exponentially, cutting through the water for him so he met almost zero resistance, streamlining his body almost as much as a real Water-type. The water pressure hurt, forcing chlorophyll from his nose and eyes, and the speed tore leaves from his tail, but he was out-speeding even Sharpedo. He looked up in surprise as Reyes came close with a flurry of bubbles and nearby Water-types scattering. Dominic used the last of his strength to throw up an illusion, forcing his jaws open and his torpedo body to finally hold still, and sunk out of the way as Reyes slashed into his thick hide. It tore into shreds with Reyes' speed and strength, and as much as Reyes felt he needed recompense for what he did to the boat…he didn't end things.

"Bahaah!" Dominic choked, blood and air rushing out of his mouth and up to the surface. Reyes grasped his arms and backpedaled away from Sharpedo's sinking form. It took too long for him to reach the surface, but he found the boat had completely sunk and the lifeboats were filled. He couldn't swim either: the saltwater was visibly hurting Dominic and Lilycove's shore was some feet away, too many when Reyes had to be careful with his body. He swam in circles for a long time before he detected another Pokémon nearby. Before he could react, something surfaced beneath them, catching both on a slippery serpentine body.

"How come we only meet when you're in trouble?" She gave a dramatic sigh. "I'm supposed to be the damsel in distress—it's not the other way around, stupid."

"Wilma, thank you… No, really, I can't even thank you enough," Reyes said to Lilly's girl friend. She didn't respond, silently swimming towards the shore. Reyes turned Dominic onto his back and regularly compressed his chest until he revived with a series of wet coughs, followed by retching a gallon of seawater tinted red. "Just hang on…okay? Just. Just hang on. We're almost to the shore." Reyes was sweating, and he had to swallow repeatedly to both ease his dry throat and repel the bile rising from his stomach.

"Aye-aye…cap'n…" The joke came as weakly as Dominic's appearance, his bloodshot eyes squinting a bit from pain.

"Hang on. You're okay. You're alright." He sounded calm, which surprised him; half of him was in the moment and the other half was staring at the extensive graveyard he called his life. Dominic would just be another tick on that list.

"Not okay." He laughed with barely any sound to it. "Not gonna be." Reyes' heart sunk.

"Dominic, you're going to live."

"Face facts," he said almost derisively before breaking into a coughing fit, more blood trickling out of his mouth. When he recovered, his eyes were dark from misery. "Tried to…tried to tell 'em…yer a good guy, tried to tell 'em…yer a hero. So, they beat the shit outta me." He stopped to inhale, and Reyes could hear the liquid still sloshing in his chest. "Mah friends…or I thought, at least…mah friends, they c…called me traitor…spy…two-faced bastard…n't believe me…" His words died and his head started to fall.

"You tried to be their hero. That's…that's admirable." Reyes dug his claws into Dominic's arm. He didn't stir, but his voice returned, sluggish and hoarse.

"I'm no…hero…"

"Maybe not, but nonetheless—" Dominic's coughs cut him off. Reyes frowned. "We don't have too long until we reach the Pokémon Center. Wilma, can you hurry?"

"If I go any faster, he'll fall off," she said defensively. "Anyways, you're just lucky that I was out here. I was invited for a swim by the most striking Kingdra—"

"I don't need the backstory too."

"Hey, take my help or leave it. I wasted a perfectly good date because I heard your screams!"

"I apologize… I really am thankful for your presence, Wilma."

"_Humph._"

He dropped his claws to hold Dominic's shoulders, ignoring the feel of dried blood on his hands. "Don't give up. _Please, _don't give up. You're amazing, and it would be a damn shame if you died here."

"I…" He started coughing again and his eyes closed. "The world…ain't losin' much…"

"_I_ am." Dominic's eyes widened for a second, then he chuffed and grinned wide. It faded a second later into a grimace.

"Ouch…"

"What hurts?" In hindsight, that was a damn stupid question, but again, Dominic ignored that.

"Everythin'…'nd nothin', if th…makes sense…" It did, and Reyes hated what it meant.

"Dominic, don't die. A kid like you shouldn't be dying like this."

"You've been sayin' that, but…know what?" Dominic was the grimmest Reyes had ever seen him. "Kids…don't murd…" He gasped, then his head fell back. For a moment, he wasn't breathing at all, then he started again with a rattle even Wilma could hear. "'m not go…nna make…it…" Reyes looked up—Lilycove was practically a hop and skip away, and there were already doctors and Nurse Joys on the shore receiving the injured.

"It doesn't matter… Look, none of it matters," he said breathlessly, struggling to keep his eyes on Dominic's. "Just… Just keep talking, alright? We're so close, Dominic. Talk about Steven or Ali or whatever you want!"

"Reyes…" He closed his eyes for a long time, and just when Reyes was going to shake him again, he let out a whimper. He said, in the smallest voice Reyes ever heard, "Does dying…hurt?" Reyes blinked hard and raised an arm to wipe his eyes.

"D…Don't talk about any of that." His voice trembled but he couldn't be bothered to care.

"Said…keep talkin'…so I'm talkin'…"

"I meant… Oh, Dominic, just don't talk about dying. You'll get to the Pokémon Center and you'll be perfectly fine. We'll keep running and you'll keep being a pain in my ass and I'll keep beating you for it. Everything will be _fine_ and just the same, alright?"

"I believe you." His smile was shaky and Reyes knew he was lying. Lilycove was so close he could practically touch it. Reyes stopped Wilma and, carefully hoisting Dominic onto his back, leapt from Wilma's body. Her skin was slick, however, and Reyes slipped when he jumped, causing him to hit the sand bodily and roll across it. When he opened his eyes, Dominic was sitting a few feet away in an awkward position. He wasn't moving to correct it.

"Help!" he called to the Nurse Joys. A Chansey was the first to notice him, tapping her Nurse before shuffling over in concern. Two more Chansey and another Joy joined them as they huddled around Dominic's…body. No, he wasn't going to say corpse. Reyes felt the memories almost literally pricking at his skull and fell over onto his hands, panting and gasping for breath. It hurt…it hurt on all new levels of _hurt…_ The battlefield covered in blood and bodies and combat nurses… Pain… Trying to pick who was alive and who was a carcass—pain—trying to salvage belongings from razed homes—pain pain—trying to gain friends from wary enemies—pain pain painpainpain—

"Him too!" a distant voice said. It almost sounded underwater, so distorted he couldn't get the gender. There were hands and paws going on him and he pushed them all and stumbled away, the pain in his head intensifying. He finally collapsed on the boardwalk, his heart racing and head pounding. He looked through his claws at the pandemonium on the beach, the people and Pokémon talking to authorities and trying to figure out what had happened, injured getting medical help. He couldn't go on like that, but he didn't think he'd be in any decent shape for a while, not if he stayed in that place. He used a street light's pole to pull himself to his feet and headed towards the city.

Despite the perils on the beach, Lilycove itself remained the same, even compared to when he had last visited. It made him feel strange that while he had changed, the world ultimately hadn't. He felt the pain reach his body as well and winced: if he stressed any further, his leaves would start dying again. He was still dazed as he made his way around the city, the Pokémon around him barely giving him a second glance. It helped that he was just a forgettable Sceptile, making it harder for anybody to recognize him. He passed by the Cove Lily Motel, the same one that he had stayed at for several weeks, and then the Lilycove Museum, which he visited several times for the art pieces within. He passed the Pokémon Fan Club, in which the owner frequently asked him for an autograph and he politely refused, the Pokémon Contest Hall, which he religiously avoided, and then the Memory Girl's house, which he also religiously avoided after one particular run-in…

He reached the Pokémon Center but couldn't find an opening to enter with the Nurse Joys and Trainers and Pokémon rushing in and out. He bit his tongue trying to keep his patience, which was already thin as an onion's skin, and finally he just lost it and shoved a Chansey out of the way, where said Chansey huffed and waddled away angrily. The waiting room was packed with Trainers and their friends waiting anxiously—the air even smelled tense, if that made sense. Reyes went up to the counter where the Nurse Joy receptionist and her Chansey were trying to placate a young man and woman asking about an injured Pidgeotto. He could barely get a word in edgewise, but he tried anyway.

"T-There was—Zoroark—need to see him—" As he expected, they didn't answer. He didn't even have the energy to try and just walked past them to the recovery rooms. In a city like Lilycove, the Pokémon Center was big enough to have dozens of them, but apparently Reyes had decent guessing skills: it took him less than a handful of tries to find Dominic's room. He was strung up with bandages and had three different medications going into him. He was curled into a furry ball on the bed so he couldn't look around, but thankfully he was still breathing, albeit faintly. Reyes sat on a chair next to the bed, his head still sore and his body shaking, and he sighed into his hands. Dominic's ears perked at the sound but he didn't move otherwise. It seemed to be an automatic reaction.

"This place…it hurts. I haven't been here in so long, and the last time that I did it was still ravaged by the revolution. Everywhere I turn, all I see are the bodies of friends, of innocents…" What would Dominic say to that? _Get your head outta yer ass, _probably—though that might've been more up the King's alley. Dominic would have something massively silly to say. The thought made him smile through his pain a little. He reached out to pat the kid on the head. His ear twitched again and he frowned, growling lightly and shifting under Reyes' touch. Reyes looked at the cocktail of drugs going into Dominic's system and sighed.

"Doesn't seem like you can talk for now… That's fine. Your job as of now is to rest and recover. You're in the perfect place to do so, and I won't let you get hurt. Not on my life." He retracted his arm and Dominic whined a bit at the loss of contact, getting a small smile from Reyes. "And…I think I'll do the talking now."


	14. 241 Reyes, Part I

**2.4.1. Reyes, Part I**

"This is Adam Castello reporting live from Sootopolis City," said a wild-eyed brown-haired reporter as noises and explosions raged in the background. "The fight between Pokémon and humans is still going on strong. They have yet to withdraw, changing our minds about what we previously thought was a temporary thing. The casualties are in the hundreds area on both sides as Gym Leader Wallace alongside Gym Leaders Tate and Liza of Mossdeep City work to quell fighting in both their areas. The Elite Four, also, is coming to aid us. Is this the final straw for Trainer-owned Pokémon? Is this the last of the relationship between us? Find out next time on—no, don't come any closer—don't—AGAAH!"

Brendan and his Pokémon watched, stunned silent, as the broadcast ended and the television went to fuzz. Eoin was the first to cry out in outrage, where Azalea tried to calm him, and Kim and Leroy started arguing about Adam Castello's last words. "Guys, guys!" Brendan said, trying to quiet them all. The three of them were getting frustrated and messing up his furniture. "Guys!"

"That's enough!" Reyes shouted, instantly silencing all of them. "Brendan, we're going to help them, right?"

"Help them?" Brendan fell silent for a bit, bringing back the commotion. Reyes silenced them again as Brendan walked around his parents' living room, mussing up his already messy dark hair and wiping his hands on his jeans. Reyes abruptly realized how unreasonable the request was: Brendan was just fourteen, a child in every sense, and he was talking about a rebellion, which nobody seemed brave enough to call it. "Don't get me wrong, I'm terrified for all the people getting attacked, but…"

"We can handle it!" Eoin said.

"Yeah, we can!" Kim and Leroy slapped their claws together. He swallowed, then he looked at Reyes. All of them knew no matter how much the others lectured Brendan, the final say would always be Reyes'.

"Please," Reyes said to him. Brendan scanned his face before nodding.

"Going from eating nachos and watching old movies to savin' the world," he muttered in disbelief, grabbing his backpack and filling it with money, snacks, and healing supplies. "What a jump!" He threw it on and ran to his mother's room while Azalea looked at Reyes with concern.

"Are we sure this is a good place for him to be? It's not an arena with rules like a Gym, Pokémon are actually hurting and…_killing _humans."

"Our Trainer is tough," Leroy said.

"Toughest," Kim corrected.

"You guys…"

"Azalea, you have to trust in him," Reyes said. "And also believe if he does fall, we'll pick him up as we've been doing. You're the most faithful of us all, don't go wimping out now."

"…You're right." She didn't seem entirely convinced with the situation, but she believed in Reyes' answer. "Let's go be heroes."

It was challenging work securing a train ticket to that side of Hoenn, and when they finally managed to get a hold of one, the station was crammed full of evacuees making their escape. Brendan was visibly unnerved by the sight, but as his Pokémon, Reyes and the others kept him moving forward. It was a long trip from Verdanturf, made even longer by frayed nerves, but they didn't even have to reach Mossdeep: the rebellion had spread in a brief time to Lilycove. They weren't even aware until Brendan walked through the sliding glass doors of the tri-rail and his sneaker landed in a puddle of blood. He jumped away, hands clapped over his mouth, and visually tracked the trail to an alley, where a Shiftry's arm protruded without an attached body.

He groaned with his face taking on a green shade. He blindly moved backwards until he crashed into a metal trash bin and gripped the sides hard enough to turn his knuckles bone white. Right after, he doubled over and started retching.

"What's this?" Eoin pawed at the dirt, sniffing around bits of grey matter peppering the blood. Reyes fought down the bile in his throat and gently grabbed him by the scruff to pull him backwards.

"That's gore, Eoin."

"Gore…?"

Azalea rubbed Brendan's back until he was done, pulling back and dragging a shaky arm across his mouth. Brendan took one look at Reyes' face and frowned, shaking his head furiously.

"What?"

"You're gonna tell me it's too much for me, I should go back, and…I'm not," he said after a moment, his face set with grim determination. "If anything, it helps me realize these people really do need help. I'm staying."

"…If you choose to," he said quietly. Brendan nodded once, paused, then fell to one knee and threw his arms around Reyes, pulling him close. Reyes accepted the embrace without a word before Brendan spoke again with a small, fragile voice.

"Promise we'll make it back okay. All of us."

They had told their fair share of lies to each other before. Reyes told Brendan he looked good with a mullet, and Brendan told Reyes no, he didn't paint Reyes' face in his sleep. But this wasn't a mere prank or white lie: this was a matter of life and death. Both knew it, and both knew there was no straightforward way out once they set foot on the battleground. Yet both remained there at the boundary, still considering an early grave over feigning ignorance for the rest of their lives.

Reyes looked back at Eoin, the first wild Pokémon Brendan managed to catch, and Kim and Leroy, the Zangoose he won from a hotdog eating contest that ended up becoming vital parts to his team, all three of them. Azalea was an Egg given to him by his mother, and he and Reyes had many hours of pleasure watching the awkward Raltz, then Kirlia, try to dance for them. Reyes was nowhere near as memorable by origin, just another of the professor's lab-bred Pokémon to be grabbed during the annual induction ceremony. But as Brendan entered the lab, his eyes never left the very ordinary Treecko, and for the first time in his young life, Reyes felt as if he had real purpose beyond being a tool to win the League. He became an advisor, a parent, a brother, a scapegoat, a test dummy, and a best friend all in one sentence: _"Professor? I pick…this one here."_

"No," Reyes said. "I won't promise."

He felt Brendan's tears run down his shoulder as he gave a wet laugh. "I didn't think you would."

As Brendan walked through the city they became aware of noise on the shore. He and Reyes took off and found a squad of Officer Jennys and their Pokémon holding back a larger territorial army of Pokémon coming out from boats and from swimming and from flying.

"Reyes, help them!" Brendan said, rooting through his bag for his Pokéballs. Reyes nodded and ran into the fray, leaf blades at the ready. A Swellow swept above him and latched onto his head's leaf with its claws, and he was nearly dragged into the air before he rooted his vines in the ground. He then entangled its wings with his vines and brought it down into the water. He felt some Pokémon jump on his back, then a much larger one followed. His feet sunk into the sand and he fell over on his stomach, immobilized.

"Get offa him!" Eoin yelled before the smell of sulfur filled the air. The Pokémon leapt from his back as the air around them supercharged, Eoin barking up a storm and shooting off electric bolts at any stragglers. Reyes pushed himself to his feet as Eoin grinned triumphantly at him, bouncing back and forth on his paws.

"Yeah, good boy," Reyes said, patting his head. Eoin laughed and leaned into his touch. Reyes saw an Exploud coming up behind him and pulled Eoin out of the way, giving it a punch in the gut. It stumbled back, startled, then he struck it down. "Eoin, I need you to—"

"Watch it!" Eoin pushed past Reyes and released a lightning bolt at a swooping Honchcrow.

"Thanks…"

A sharp cry pierced the air as Kim and Leroy came spinning with Fury Swipes, giving several Pokémon bloody haircuts, and then Azalea pushed them away psychically. She started fretting over Eoin and Reyes almost immediately. "Oh, I hope you two are alright…"

"Yes mom," Eoin said, his tongue coming out as she scratched behind his ear.

"You, Eoin, and I stay here. Kim, Leroy, you two help protect the city's borders," Reyes ordered. Kim and Leroy saluted him before turning back and running across the sand. At the city's borders, leaning against the protective barricade put up by the Jennys, Brendan was looking out at them with concern, eyes wide. Reyes raised his fist, trying to assure him that everything would be okay even though he himself couldn't be any less sure of the answer.

* * *

It felt like thirty minutes, but then again it also felt like three hours. Reyes wasn't sure how long they had been fighting, but there were now much less Pokémon defending the city than there were attacking it. Bodies littered the ground, human and Pokémon alike; some of them were just unconscious, but more were dead. He was tired, and Azalea was supporting him more much than he'd like, even though she wasn't much of a fighter. Eoin was at his wits' end as well, as he was quick to burn himself out when it came to producing electricity. Reyes felt something gnawing on his leaves and threw his arm forward. A Carvahna flew from his arm into the water, but it had already consumed his leaf blades, and he couldn't focus long enough to perform Photosynthesis.

"We're not going to win," Reyes said, falling on the sand. Azalea created a psychic barrier around them, keeping the other Pokémon at bay, but even that was pushing her limits. Her powers were naturally more defensive than offensive—at most, she could stay on the sides of a fight, speak of the opponent's next move at times, but big battles like that were a great weakness for her.

"Reyes—"

"He's right." Eoin collapsed with his tongue lolling out. "It's, like, three on thirty." The other Trainers were doing a decent job of keeping the rebelling Pokémon's attention, but it was obvious the domestic Pokémon's side was failing. The rebelling Pokémon were getting closer to the barricade, which the Jennys consequently had to push back. One officer was trying to push Brendan back and he fought tooth and nail to stay close. He watched the Pokémon get closer and closer, heart banging painfully against his ribs, then it nearly stopped when he saw a Flying-type sweep down with talons out. Brendan and several other children were in its direct path.

"Lea, let me go!" She dropped the barrier and he pushed off from the ground, then he gave one final jump off a Tangela, using its springiness to launch himself into the air. He seized the Fearow's legs, causing it to veer away from the people and towards the buildings. It squawked angrily and pumped higher into the sky until the battle was far below them. Reyes lost his grip on one of its talons and it lashed at his face, cutting deep grooves and impairing his left eye. He hauled himself up with his other hand and sat on its back, lacing his vines around its neck in a snare trap. He pulled on the vines, forcing the Fearow to start diving.

The ground swelled closer. Reyes realized it seriously had no intent of stopping. He waited a moment to regain his balance before jumping from the Fearow's back (he also saw that it could pull itself back in the air three inches from the ground, to his dismay) and nearly falling on top of the crowd. As he expected, Azalea took hold of him, slowing his descent until he hit the ground lightly. He saw the Fearow come back again and used Razor Wind. The sudden gust threw it off-course back towards the main battle. The Fearow quickly spun around with a war cry, returning to the people, and this time it brought more than a few friends. Eoin and Azalea tried to turn but the lot of them were still occupied by the Pokémon stuck on the ground. Reyes tried coiling his vines like a web around the outer buildings but the birds still easily cut them away.

"Pelipper, use Ice Beam!" a female commanded from somewhere within the crowd. A Pelipper hobbled into the air sluggishly, but the strength of its Ice Beam made up for that tenfold, encasing all two dozen or so Flying-types in a thick coat of it. "Now, Skarmory, Aerial Ace!" A metallic blur raced between all the Flying-types too fast for even Reyes to track, then they shattered into a shower of ice cubes, falling to the asphalt. The crowd cheered as the Flying-types landed and turned in the direction of their Trainer, a tall woman dressed for flight. Reyes recognized her as the last Gym Leader Brendan fought, Winona.

"Everyone, get to safety!" Winona commanded, her Pokémon helping to push the crowd back. "You'll get injured staying here!" The Jennys worked to move the crowds while Reyes searched for Brendan. He was still stationed at the barricade, his fingers gripping the plastic so hard they turned bloodless.

"Reyes…" he said in a shaky voice, his eyes roving across the lifeless bodies.

"We can't do anything about them," Reyes muttered, looking away. He saw Brendan take out their Pokéballs but didn't have the energy to argue. Any longer out there anyway and they would die of exhaustion…or die from something worse. Brendan shifted the Pokéballs around in his hands, trying to figure out which belonged to who, while Reyes was distracted by a peculiar noise that grated his instincts. It went against all fibers of his being, but eventually he did turn to see the source, and it was one of the few things he monumentally regretted in his life.

_"__EOIN!"_

Eoin was wide-eyed and whimpering in pain as the Aggron gripped his head. Azalea was being held back by two Sableye as she tried to run towards him, and Leroy was on the ground trying to rise with Kim wailing for him. The sound, that sound was a skull cracking. Reyes ran back onto the beach, but it felt as if he was being dragged by Arceus itself, getting nowhere as the Aggron's grip tightened, Eoin's cries intensifying—he couldn't look, he just couldn't—Arceus kept his eyes focused—Eoin was wailing now—Aggron laughed—

_CRACK!_

…

_Brendan's team is down to four._

Reyes blinked repeatedly but that image was and forever would be scratched into his eyelids with the roughest of blades. He felt Brendan's arms go around him and became vaguely aware of Pokéballs activating, then they were moving, Brendan practically dragging him along. Reyes' legs moved automatically, but he still had no sense of what was around him. "He's just a kid," he whispered. Brendan made a strangled sound in an attempt to hold his cries back. "He was a kid, he didn't deserve that…"

Brendan took him to the Pokémon Center. It was twice the size of most others considering Lilycove's size, but it was packed with Pokémon going in and out from the battle on the outskirts on top of the usual flow of Trainers. He sat in the lobby, tears still running down his face. Reyes knelt at his side and rested his head on Brendan's lap the same way he had been doing since he was a Treecko, but not as recently since Eoin had occupied the position. "What happens now?" Brendan muttered, working his hair into knots with his fingers. Reyes couldn't tell if he meant Eoin or the rebellion in general, but it didn't matter since either way, they were damned.

The rebellion in Lilycove was much like the common cold: it was severe at first, but was short-lived, as the rebelling Pokémon hadn't organized themselves well enough to continue. Still, the disease was running across waterborne cities with greater strength due to their isolation, and with the rebels gaining strength like a hurricane, it was just a matter of time before they hit Lilycove again with too much force to handle.

There was a memorial ceremony for everybody that perished protecting the city. Since Lilycove didn't have a Gym Leader of its own, it was held by Winona, who managed to get there the fastest to quell the fighting. Eoin was buried in some nameless cemetery with nameless others—no, they weren't nameless, their names had been carved onto a great stone in the center of the city, forever to be remembered as heroes, but Brendan and his Pokémon would just think of Eoin as a pointless casualty in a pointless fight.

Brendan did attend, his Pokémon out, but he was one of the people mourning a tangible loss, and like them, he was quick to escape when the ceremony was over. He retreated into a local park with his Pokémon following, his fists clenched so tightly they were bloodless. "Brendan," Azalea said with brow furrowed. Reyes raised his head slightly and saw her reaching out to touch his arm. He yanked it back almost immediately.

"You can't heal this pain," he said, eyes dark. He then removed his backpack and turned it over, dumping their Pokéballs onto a paved square. Eoin's Pokéball rolled across the pavement and tapped against Reyes' foot. He took out a ball-peen hammer and, before anybody could intervene, smashed Azalea, Kim, Leroy, and Reyes' Pokéballs into bits.

"Brendan!" Reyes exclaimed, feeling his heart turn cold and heavy as stone. He _couldn't_ have been giving them up, could he? Not even as distressed as he was… Reyes couldn't imagine a life without Brendan any more than he could imagine a life without the sun and moon and he was certain the others felt the same. But, when he stepped forward in concern, Brendan gave a furious groan and tossed the hammer as hard as he could. It landed in a stone birdbath, breaking the Taillow figure spitting the water. He sunk on his knees, his jeans getting mud and grass bits all over them, and started to cry. Reyes walked over and put his hands on Brendan's shoulders. With him on his knees, they were an equal height. Brendan sniffled, eyes wide and watery, and Reyes pulled him into a hug. Brendan gripped him back so tightly it hurt.

"Things can't stay this way forever," Azalea whispered. "Can they?" Kim and Leroy exchanged looks.

"I don't have high hopes," Kim said.

"Me neither," Leroy said. "Sad, but true." Azalea knelt to take up the remnants of her Pokéball, then she picked up Eoin's and held both to her chest.

"I pray to Arceus that both of you are proven wrong."

"Oi, you guys," Reyes interrupted. "Just…be quiet."

"I…I'm okay." Brendan sniffed. "'m 'kay…Reyes." That was the first time Brendan ever lied to him and Reyes hated it. He punched Brendan on the crown of his head hard, and when he raised his face Reyes pinched his nose. "Hey! Owowow!"

"Don't do that again." Brendan rubbed his nose and nodded warily. "…I'm sorry that I couldn't protect Eoin."

"Reyes, no, it was far from your fault." Azalea wiped her eyes. "If anything, I should have seen this coming."

"Me and Leroy were playing around too much," Kim said, bowing her head.

"Maybe if we really put our heads in the game," Leroy said, ears flattening and shoulders slumping.

"You guys," Brendan whispered, understanding the basis of their conversation. "There was nothing you could've done… It's my fault as his Trainer. I shouldn't have put him out there cuz he was still so inexperienced. I…" Tears started running down his face again and he visibly lost his train of thought, his expression growing steadily darker. Heartbroken by the sight, Azalea knelt in front of him and clasped her hands to her extended heart. A soft pink aura appeared around her body, then it slowly moved to Brendan's, surrounding him and emitting the soft sound of tin bells. His expression changed as Azalea gave a gasp and fell over.

"Lea!" Reyes caught her before she hit the ground, her skin feeling warm beneath his touch.

"That's all…I can do," she whispered. "The rest is…for you…as his best friend."

"Lea, you're not dyi—"

She laughed softly, her eyes shutting. "Tired… Only tired. My wish for…for Brendan to heal…was a lot… I'm weak, remember?"

"We're kind of useless now," Kim said sheepishly. Leroy patted Reyes' shoulder.

"None of us can affect Brendan like you can, not even with fancy tricks."

"I…understand," Reyes said. "I understand."

Reyes later found out what the Pokéballs meant: Brendan was taking that rebellion far more seriously than they expected him too. It wasn't because he was young, rather they didn't believe he could think that deeply about anything, and having been his Pokémon since the beginning, it wasn't just an assumption. Still, he surprised all of them by constantly tuning into the news channel, watching any reports that he could, and writing half-baked counterattack ideas in his notebook when he had time. He tried to hide them though, and while the others didn't notice, Reyes always did. Though that was as far as Reyes had seen, and it was two weeks before anything more came of it.

* * *

Reyes was woken by a loud argument in the living room. He rolled over in his sleeping bag trying to get back to sleep, but the voices persisted. Finally, he crept from Brendan's room and into the hallway, peeking into the room. Brendan was arguing with his mother as she held up the notebook he had been writing in for the last couple of weeks. "You're not going out there and that's final!" she said.

"Mom, I have to do something! People are dying, Pokémon are dying—"

"And you want to die too?" He tried to snatch his notebook back but she held it out of reach. She was usually such a nice and easygoing person, essentially the female version of Brendan down to appearance; seeing her like that was scary. He frowned when he couldn't grab his notebook and his cheeks flushed.

"I can travel all of Hoenn but I can't do this?"

"Hoenn was never explicitly dangerous before this! Pokémon killing people and people killing Pokémon… It's just madness, Brendan!"

"That's why I have to stop it. I _have_ to! Even if all I can do is save one Pokémon, it…it'd be more than I've done here!" Reyes' heart constricted. Her expression changed.

"I miss Eoin too," she set her hand on his head and pulled him closer, "and although the ceremony didn't handle it all very well, he did die a hero."

"It's got nothing to do with Eoin," he said in a clipped voice. "I'm just… I want to help." She held his face forward and kissed his forehead.

"I know you do, but just not like this, alright? because if you die…" For a moment, Reyes could see a sorrow in her eyes he hadn't seen since Brendan's dad passed years ago. He remembered that he wasn't the only one who would suffer if Brendan died: his mother would too, plus all the other people he's met on his journey. Brendan made a small sound in the back of his throat.

"I promise I won't die, Mom." He started back towards his room and bumped into Reyes, who was pressed against the doorway. He stared in surprise as Reyes stared back at him. "You've been listening this whole time?" He sighed, but he didn't sound as pitiful as before, so Reyes easily let him slide to his room. He almost went too before Brendan's mother stopped him.

"Reyes, I know he's your best friend, so do me a big favor," she whispered, holding his gaze. "Make sure that he doesn't do anything reckless, okay?" Reyes nodded. "_Please. _You never disobey him because you love him so much, but please, just this once?"

"I promise," he told her. Reassured, she retreated to her bedroom, shutting the light off. Reyes passed by the bathroom and noticed that Brendan had left his pajamas in there. He took them up (Brendan didn't like to sleep in his clothes, and he didn't sleep naked because Azalea and Kim counted as girls to him) and started to give them to Brendan, then he noticed the room was empty and the window was open—second story window.

"Damn you," Reyes muttered, setting his clothes on his bed and hopping onto the window ledge. Brendan had used their big Berry tree to climb down to the lawn and was sprinting down the sidewalk with the others right behind him. Reyes wanted to tell his mother but it would take too much time. He felt a loose tear come down and wiped his face—he wasn't going to be gone long…he would just bring Brendan back, yeah. He wasn't going to let Brendan go out on some mindless hero's voyage and nearly kill himself or anybody else, and he wasn't going to let down Brendan's mother, who took just as loving care of him as Brendan had. Nope, he wasn't going to do it.

"Brendan!" Reyes called, chasing after him. That was six and a half years ago.


	15. 242 Reyes, Part II

**2.4.2. Reyes, Part II**

"My Gardevoir! My Gardevoir, is she okay?" Brendan tripped over a wave of people as he forced him his way to the counter with Reyes performing damage control in his wake. Nurse Joy flinched at his presence and so Reyes pulled him back. "Tell me!"

"Let me get your Trainer I.D.?" Nurse Joy said, recovering from the shock. Her Chansey, however, was giving Brendan the mother of all dirty looks, but he remained undaunted.

"#38005," he said breathlessly. "Now…?"

"Recovery room number thirteen," she said in a clipped tone. Brendan exhaled and started down the hall, Reyes keeping position at his heel.

"Damn Fortree damn people…"

"Your attitude isn't helping," Reyes said. Brendan gave him a weary look over his shoulder but didn't reply. A Chimchar running through the hall broke their step, then his young owner ran from her room to grab him. She looked up at them as they passed, and Reyes turned his head away from the fresh pink scar marring her face.

"Thirteen," Brendan said, coming to a stop in front of an ajar recovery room. Azalea looked almost like a doll as she laid motionless on the bed, her arms and face bandaged. Reyes had repelled the Mawile before it had done too much damage, and by then the rest of the rebels had been successfully purged from Fortree, however there were still dozens of Pokémon bedridden, some with the grim outlook of never waking up.

"Too slow," Brendan muttered almost too low for Reyes to hear. He took Azalea's hand, holding it so tightly his knuckles turned white. "I'm always too slow… Damn it all." Reyes could only watch, not knowing what to say. Before, he never had that problem, especially with Brendan.

The last two years were…original, really. He didn't hate helping people and Pokémon, not at all, but it was almost impossible to constantly stay on top of his game with the rebels seemingly creeping from every crevice at every opportunity.

For four years since Brendan turned ten and they went on their little League journey, every battle was executed carefully and under a set volley of rules, spoken or fundamental. Rebelling Pokémon didn't work that way—they fought to win, and their one rule towards that goal was "by any means necessary."

Together, the people had freed up Ever Grande City, Lilycove City, Fortree City, Pacifidlog Town, and Rustboro—everything else was either teetering in a war or just out of the question entirely. They weren't really losing, not yet anyway, but they weren't winning anything either. Reyes believed that war would continue long into his life, and of course the first time he was ever right about anything, it was that stupid shit. Then again, had that war not continued, he wouldn't have met a lot of his new friends, including Dominic. He couldn't say it was worth the trade, but at least there came some good from the terrible.

He released Azalea's hand and raised his head to take a deep breath, eyes closed. Reyes nearly spoke before Brendan gave a heavy exhale. "Sorry, Reyes," he said, sitting at the foot of his bed and hanging his head. "There are lotsa things I could've done differently, but I really should've just stayed near you guys…"

Reyes sat with him and ruffled Brendan's uncombed hair. When he was smaller, that was a lot easier. "It's okay," Reyes said, and he finally learned how to mean it. He learned a lot in his time as a revolutionary, but one of the biggest things he learned was how to not feel guilty at every event that couldn't have been stopped by anybody.

Brendan chuckled and pushed him away. "Stop it, I'm not a kid anymore." Reyes ruffled his hair more incessantly and Brendan broke out laughing. "Stop it already, Reyes!"

"You two…are so cute," Azalea said. Reyes and Brendan turned to her, surprised to see her untangling the blankets so she could sit up. They rushed to help but she waved them off. "I'm fine, see?" Her right eye and mouth, the part of her face left exposed, brightened with her smile. "I feel fine, if a little drugged." Then she put her arms around Brendan's neck, tugging him closer. "Thank you for caring so much."

He flushed bright pink and nodded quickly. "'m gonna get food," he said in a tight voice, standing up and quickly leaving with his hands in his pockets.

"He's such a cute boy." Azalea blinked then chuckled. "Well, not a boy anymore. He's taller than me now." Reyes had a certain nagging thought that wouldn't let him go. He didn't want to believe it, but something about the jagged scarring peeking out around her eye frightened him, and he had to see if it was true. "Yes," she said before he could open his mouth. He had forgotten she could see the future at times.

"Lea…"

"It's fine, really. I'm a Psychic-type—eyes are dispensable to me."

"But not to me." He felt along the curve of her cheek where the scars stood harshest. She held his hand with hers and closed her unseeing eye. The words came bursting from his throat like bile: "It should've been me who lost his eyes! Brendan wouldn't have it for me to tell him, but it should've! You're—it, not you, Azalea! It—"

"You were so cute, the way you followed him so much…" She chuckled. "You two would sit together for hours stuffing your faces with junk food and watching endless DVDs of movies even as his mother complained, and afterwards when you were sick to your stomachs you two would still be smiling together. I'm much less important to Brendan compared to you and your wellbeing, Reyes."

"Th…That's so untrue…"

"Eoin, rest his soul, changed Brendan in a lot of ways. What if _you_ got injured or worse? What do you think would happen to Brendan then?"

"This isn't about me."

"Just think about it." Brendan returned with a tray of cafeteria food. He passed the tray with a salad and a cup of Berries over and saved himself a chocolate milkshake. Well, at least some habits never let up.

"You'll be here for the rest of the week while they run tests," he told Azalea. "But…they can't do anything about your eyes. I…sorry," he finished lamely. His knuckles turned white around the glass. Azalea smiled and rested her hand over his. The tension left his body in a long breath, and seeing Reyes smile made him smile too.

"We'll probably head down to Mauville after this," he said after a big gulp, his breath coming out frosty. "Oof, cold. But anyway, I got us some overnight rooms, Reyes," he said. "So we can stay here the night." An unintended sound escaped Reyes and Brendan looked over at him. "Huh? You don't want to?" Reyes shook his head quickly.

"No, I'm—it's fine."

"You're acting weird…"

He grumbled and tipped Brendan's cup when he took another drink, causing him to snort ice cream from his nose.

"Augh! Brain freeze! You dick!" Brendan yelled, but he was laughing at the same time. When he was in middle school Reyes used to do that trick with anything, including soda so carbonated it made his eyes fizz. _Yup, some things don't change,_ Reyes thought, but he still had another "issue" to deal with before they left…

* * *

"What? You're leaving?" she cried. Reyes almost slipped down the soaked rocks as he rushed to cover her mouth.

"_Quiet,_ Lilly, I don't want all of Fortree listening."

"Or you just don't want them to see you and me." She backpedaled a few feet in the dark ocean, the moonlight refracting off her moist blue skin. It was a thankful, thankful thing that Fortree was on the shore, even if it had rocks and bushes in lieu of a sandy beach. Still, there was too much distance between him and her all the time.

"You know that's not it. Remember, just talking to me makes you a prime target for rebels."

"I don't care about them."

"That's what worries me…" She swam closer, bumping her head against his. "You don't know how scared I am for your life. Scared enough for both of us and then some."

"All you _do_ is worry, yet never for yourself. I am a very capable Pokémon, Reyes. I can handle myself. You, on the other hand, look exhausted. Your leaves are dying too. Have you been eating and sleeping properly?" He grunted, somewhat frustrated.

"I'm sorry we can't stay together now, but you can bet all my leaves I'll build a home for us we'll live in in the near future, close enough to the shore we can visit each other any time."

"Likewise, you're betting a lot you'll be able to just stop what you're doing to come back to me. You're such an altruist I doubt that you could ever stop helping people."

"I didn't say I would… Be stopping, I mean. You know, if you're okay with the idea. I'd still run around Hoenn trying to save one more human from slaughter, and I'm not guaranteeing I can see you all the time, but I swear on Arceus' name I'll make my best effort to."

"I believe you," she said honestly, closing her eyes. "…What was it again? Six months ago that we met?"

"Six months and three weeks. Don't underestimate my memory."

_Sootopolis was, at the time, still a safe place to be in. Brendan was with Kim and Leroy in Petalburg, and so he was alone with Azalea for a bit of reprieve. She basked in the cool pools gratefully, sighing in delight. "Finally, a chance to relax."_

_"__I don't like it." Reyes grumbled up a storm from where he sat on the shore. "I should be helping Brendan with the fighting, but _no_, he says I've been working too hard and need a break."_

_"__You do." Azalea gently grasped his hand, turning it so his worn and browning leaf blades were visible. He pulled his arm from her grip with a groan. "You're not a god. Even you need breaks sometimes whether you like it or not."_

_"__Just know I _really_ don't like it." Azalea laughed and smacked the water, dousing him. He recoiled with a groan. "Azalea!"_

_"__A little water won't hurt."_

_"__Aza—" He pushed himself up and fought not to clench his fists. "I'm going to take a walk." He went off before she could interfere, hiking up Sootopolis' stony ledges to its collection of caves and burrows. They were made from an interesting type of rock found only undersea, and the waters were so clear Water-types of any species and region could swim in them. He checked the plants that grew along some cliffs, the various species that could only grow in Sootopolis' unique ecosystem, and started wandering further from the shore without even noticing. He was so captivated by the environment he was almost too late to notice voices coming up from a series of out-of-the-way tide pools._

_"—__and he had these adorable red eyes—"_

_"__Marla, you're colorblind."_

_"__I mean, like, they looked pretty red—"_

_"__Marla, Wilma already said it: you're colorblind. You're missing out on the good stuff. Now, there was this lovely Swanna who offered me one of his Magikarp—"_

_"__Yes, after you begged him for it, I bet."_

_"__Lilly, quit embarrassing Emmi already."_

_Reyes came to a stop on the mossy cliff that over looked the tide pool: it contained a Gorebyss, Milotic, Corsola, and the most beautiful Lapras he had ever seen. If he went by their voices, they were all female. He didn't want to intrude, and he learned at an early age that eavesdropping was a severe invasion of privacy—_especially_ when eavesdropping on females—but that Lapras was just so…_

_"__Okay, Lilly, what's your story?" the Milotic asked the Lapras, narrowing her eyes as she reclined in the icy-blue water._

_"__No stories here." Lilly smiled and turned away. The Gorebyss scoffed dubiously._

_"__C'mon, someone as gorgeous as you? Quit being coy and just tell us!"_

_"__I'm telling you guys the truth. Trust me, when I find a guy, my best friends will be first to know."_

_Reyes lost his grip on the wet moss and started slipping down the cliff's incline. He tried to root himself with his vines but he couldn't get them inside the rock. He fell from the cliff and landed in the tide pool with an enormous splash. The next fifteen seconds were a huge blank as he was choked and battered by the Water-types in a confused panic, then he was finally brought back to land by Lilly. A loud argument ensued between her friends before she calmed them down. "Are you alright?" she asked him._

_"__Y…Yeah." He felt dazed and nauseous from the water he swallowed, not to mention possible brain damage. "Sorry to interrupt you guys'…chat."_

_"__You better be," the Corsola grumbled._

_"__Marla, be a little nicer—he's pretty cute after all," the Milotic said. "Hi there, I'm Wilma."_

_"__I'm Emmi. Sorry for, y'know, almost strangling you and all," the Gorebyss said._

_"__I like your friends," Reyes said dryly. "They're so polite after nearly mauling someone."_

_"__We have our faults," Lilly smiled. "So, ah, where did you drop in from?"_

_"__I was actually just enjoying…the city."_

"How are those three doing anyway?" Reyes asked.

"Still searching for their own significant others. They just reached that point in their lives, I guess."

"And you hadn't?"

"It wasn't that I didn't," she said somewhat timidly. "Just… Well…"

"You were waiting for a guy like me, huh? The kind that makes you feel like you're swimming through the sky and up in space at the same time?"

"You and your words," she laughed. He grinned and cocked his head.

"I try. Anyway, it's late. I have to get back before Brendan notices that I'm gone."

"You could just tell him, then he could make me part of his team and we could stay together." Reyes sighed and shook his head.

"You need water, which we're not always near. I'd rather you're healthy."

"You too," she said in a similar tone. He grimaced.

"Also, thank your friends. If not for them serving as messengers, it wouldn't be so easy for me to call you."

"I always do." She pressed her cheek against his. "Bye for now, Reyes." He hugged her neck for a long time.

"Bye…" He practically ran before he was compelled to stay with her.

Brendan was asleep with the pillow over his head when Reyes returned. Thanking Arceus, he shut the window and crawled into the other bed, just about to let his guard down before Brendan spoke up: "Had a nice time?"

Reyes sighed. Brendan did too, the moonlight making his eyes look grey rather than their usual blue.

"So? Where'd ya go?" Reyes nodded towards the ocean. "Huh? Why?"

"Don'wannatalk'boutit," Reyes murmured into his pillow, drawing the sheets over his head to hide the blush creeping over his skin.

"What? C'mon Reyes, what is it?"

"Nothing…"

"Okay," he said, turning away for a moment before looking back at him. "Hey, if it was serious, you'd tell me right?"

"Uh-huh." He heard Brendan lie down again and sighed in relief.

"She's really something, huh?"

"What?" Reyes practically jumped out of his skin as Brendan laughed.

"Dude, you've snuck outta bed in every city we've been in. Did ya think I'm that oblivious? Come on."

"I—I—"

"Look, you don't have to sneak around with it," he said, then he sobered. "And if you…y'know…wanna stay with her…"

"I couldn't, not for a long time to come," Reyes said, kicking the sheets away. "Not as long as I can be by your side."

"Heh…thanks. You're a real bud 'til the end." Brendan sat up again, his hands mussing his hair as they always did when he was nervous. "And I should apologize for just being so…in my feelings these last two years, especially when you and Azalea and Kim and Leroy are still fine."

"I don't blame you, you're still young," Reyes said. He walked over to Brendan and grasped his hand. "And I'll always be here too, as long as you'll have me as your best friend." Brendan grinned like he hadn't in years.

"Always!"

_REYES! BRENDAN!_ Reyes clenched his head as Azalea's voice rang through it, and Brendan imitated the gesture as she spoke to him too. _MOVE!_

Not a second later, an explosion rocked the floor beneath their feet, then there was a sickly shift in Reyes' center as the tree the Pokémon Center was based on started to fall. He instinctively reached for Brendan, who was wide-eyed with panic, but another explosion came, blowing the western wall in and throwing him onto his face. He was disoriented and felt a surge of pain run through his body as the tree hit the ground.

* * *

"Reyes… Reyes, wake up!" Leroy's claws were digging into his shoulder. He was awake, but his eyes wouldn't open and his throat was too backed up with chlorophyll to let him speak or breathe. His left leg was gone, his head leaf had been torn, and there were weird weights on some parts of his body. Leroy was still shaking him and saying his name, and he was starting to get tired of it…

"Leroy, move!" Reyes felt a warm breeze caress his face right before a much more powerful one raked over his body, stinging his skin but clearing the weights from him and allowing him to move. He felt a hand on his face, then his chest heaved and he was throwing up his own body fluids, his eyes tearing up from the pain and pressure. "Reyes, talk," Azalea said, bringing his eyes to hers.

"W-Whuh…?"

"The rebels." Her tone was clipped by pain, instantly silencing him, and she nodded in another direction. The Pokémon Center was reduced to a collection of rubble just as the tree it was once standing on, and there were still more buildings falling. The air trembled with noise as hundred-year-old trees were toppled in seconds and people and Pokémon alike screamed with their last breaths. Bodies flashed in and out of his peripheral, looking like apparitions in his blurred vision. "I had a vision, b-but it didn't come fast enough…"

"I'll go help the fight, you get Brendan," Leroy told Azalea before taking off towards the main battle. His words sobered Reyes up.

"Where is Brendan?" He tried to stand before Azalea pushed him down.

"Reyes, please, you're hurt—"

"_Where is he?_" He started coughing again, more chlorophyll and little bits of his organs coming out. "Azalea I swear—" Suddenly his voice wasn't there anymore no matter how hard he tried to speak.

"Not you too…just not you too Reyes," she whispered, tears streaming down her dirty face. "Look, I tried to… I tried, but it…it's just…" She covered her face, sobs muffled by her palms. Reyes was struck by a numbing cold so deep it reached the very core of his being. Slowly, his voice returned to him.

"Let me see…" She sniffled and nodded, standing and taking his hands. The world slowed to abysmal proportions, seconds stretching into hours and hours stretching into weeks. He didn't know how he managed to get thrown so far from the Pokémon Center, or maybe they weren't far at all. After days, Azalea slowed to a stop, her hand over his. There was a pile of wall plaster and insulation and the big Pokéball logo, and there was half a body sticking out from all of that. Brendan groaned, wiping his eyes with his one good hand.

"Ugh… Reyes?" Reyes fell to his knees, the world becoming brighter on top of slower. Azalea kept her hand on his, maybe to keep him from going away. "Damn… That hurt," Brendan said with a broken laugh, his dirt-streaked face twisting a little in pain.

"B…"

"At least you're mostly okay." He took Reyes' free hand. "That's great… Still gotta chance at love if you're alive."

"Brend…"

"Hey, don't talk, you'll hurt yourself," he said with concern.

Reyes found that so funny he had to laugh, but he sounded manic and hollow. _You're half a person! Why worry about me? Why are you still worried about me? _Reyes wanted to scream it in his best friend's stupid face.

"Look, let's face facts."

"I don't…I can't…" Azalea squeezed his hand reassuringly as Brendan groaned again, his hand going to his forehead.

"Two years ago, I made the wrong choice…good intentions, yeah, wrong choie…and again and again I made more wrong choices… I think Eoin's turnin' in his grave at this. But this isn't about me…" He tightened his grip on Reyes' hand, his eyes bright and alert. "Tell Mom that I'm so, so sorry, and tell the guys that too, that I couldn't be the kind of Trainer that—"

"No, just stop," Reyes interrupted, his hand trembling within Brendan's. _You're the best Trainer we could've asked for, so don't leave us here now! _"D-Don't talk anymore…"

"Face reality," he said a little harshly. "C'mon Reyes, smell the smoke in the air." He turned a little to look down at the rubble obscuring his legs. "Can't feel them anymore…"

"J-Just…hospital, okay…" Brendan shook his head.

"Had a good run…the two of us." He smiled, squeezing Reyes' hand one more time. Reyes became choked up and Azalea's quiet sobs didn't help. Late nights spend watching movies, starry skies and sleeping bags, wild sugarcane, his first Gym badge, the clear blue water around Sootopolis, sleepy promises to stay together always and forever—

"I'm not going to leave you here to die!" Reyes pulled from Azalea's grip to push away the large chunks of concrete from Brendan's body, but he wasn't making progress with his one arm and one leg. Brendan frowned at him, shaking his head.

"Reyes, you're gonna hurt yourself even more."

"Reyes, that's enough," Azalea said mournfully, taking his hand. He pulled away even harder and gave the task his all. _He's not dead yet, don't give up yet! _He pushed harder and harder, his frustration growing each dreadful second.

"You're wasting your time. Just go!" Brendan said, clenching his fists in frustration. He wasn't going to leave Brendan to die, not now and not ever…

A warm sensation filled his body, something akin to hot chocolate in the wintertime. He felt the warmth grow within him, filling his useless limbs and restoring them and making them stronger. He felt his two tail leaves merge together into one large stem, and from them came many more leaves that itched as they grew in. His leaf blades hardened and grew strong again, and although his head leaf fell away he could feel new growths surging on his back, seed pods that itched just as badly as his tail as they pushed through his skin. He kept pushing through all of that, and finally the largest of the rubble moved. Vigor renewed, he cleared more of the waste as the warmth slowly faded, feeling much stronger than ever. Tears ran down his face when he pushed away the last of the debris and saw blood soaking Brendan's pants and the dirt beneath them—still, Brendan smiled at him.

"Sceptile… I've got a Sceptile now."

"Reyes," Azalea said quietly, taking his arms. He fought against her grip, his new muscles working twice as well as his old ones.

"No! I won't go!" He stumbled towards Brendan but a nearby noise startled them away. Reyes watched an indistinct Pokémon hide in the shadows as it crept on Brendan. He looked a little scared, but otherwise accepting. Azalea covered his mouth when he tried to shout, then she covered his eyes. "He wants this to happen…" He was completely still for a long time, then he pushed her away, feeling sick to his stomach. She looked horrified and there were tears streaming down her cheeks that she couldn't wipe away. "Rey—"

"No," he said hoarsely, disgusted with himself. "Just…I have to go." He ran from her before she could stop him, pushing through the trees surrounding Fortree. He was slapped in the face by more branches he could count and tripped over by several coils of vines and roots, but he continued until he reached the rocks overlooking the shore, then he fell to the ground and started crying until his lungs were burning and his throat hurt from all the retching he did.

"Can't believe I missed one," a rough voice said behind him. Instincts kicked in and Reyes pitched forward into the water just as a flaming fist crashed into the stone where he was seconds ago, smashing it into dust. A Blaziken was standing there in all his flaming glory, wrists and ankles ablaze as he balanced lightly on one foot. "Lemme guess… You're the same Sceptile I just saw with that half-dead human?"

"That was you," Reyes said flatly.

"'Course. It felt great to see a human like that, and even better to sink my claws into 'im. Wanna know what it felt like?" He jumped forward without a warning, leg out for a kick. Reyes ducked and he instead sunk beneath the surface, great plumes of bubbles rising from his intense heat. If Reyes expected him to be weakened by the water at all, he wasn't, and may have been even faster in swimming towards him. Reyes swerved out of his fist's path as he raced towards the surface, hauling himself onto the stone and running down the edge of the city. "You're not goin' ta outrun me, Sceptile!"

_I know I can't,_ Reyes thought, running even as the Blaziken's heat searing his tail. The weight of grief pulled like shackles on his wrists and ankles, and his speed was cut fractionally. _But maybe I don't want to…_

A sudden psychic pressure rippled through the air, quadruple times as strong as anything Azalea could've produced. It passed by Reyes harmlessly but tossed that Blaziken dozens of yards backwards until he smashed into the water at about eighty miles-per-hour. Reyes looked forward and saw an old Alakazam floating in a meditative state, eyes open and spoons twirling idly in the air. "Are you alright?" he asked, then he before Reyes could open his mouth, "No, you're not. You've lost your Trainer."

"Who the hell are you to be prying into my brain like that?" Reyes shouted, blindly rushing towards him. His punch shot wide even though it was aimed at his lined face, and his vines bounced off an invisible barrier and bound his own arms instead. The lashing force took him backwards and he landed on his back with his legs in the air. He pushed off to his feet and yanked the vines apart, rushing the Alakazam's throat.

"Please, Reyes, haven't you seen enough death for the night?" Reyes' entire body went numb, then slack, and he fell to his knees. Even if that hadn't happened, the fight had already left him. "I am just another hero like you, my friend. I'm trying to bring us all together, because an organized force is better than a disorganized one." He was right, but Reyes didn't feel like fighting anymore. "It's a sad thing to lose one you're so close to. I want to help stop that from happening to anybody else. Do you?"

"Of c… I do, of course I damn well do," he said. "I just…my mind…I can't…"

The Alakazam raised one of his fists, his spoon facing upwards. Reyes looked over his shoulder and saw the Blaziken freeze mid-jump, eyes blazing. "Nice surprise attack, old fart," Blaziken said, struggling in Alakazam's psychic grip.

"And I say the same to you," Alakazam said calmly before returning to Reyes. "I will give you time to escape, then. If you should change your mind, come to Ever Grande City."

Reyes didn't know what to say and just returned to the city, watching the rebels finally falling back in the face of the revolutionaries. Kim and Leroy were heading the battle and Azalea was helping tend to the wounded even as her psychic abilities wore thin. He worked his jaw, staring at his teammates, then he turned and fell silently into the shadows. He would return to them, and he would help put the world back in order, but…not that day, not until he got over himself. That was four years ago.


	16. 243 Reyes, Part III

**2.4.3. Reyes, Part III**

Reyes made a face into the cracked hand mirror, touching the purple marks beneath his eyes. He was losing sleep again to the damn nightmares. He didn't know why they disappeared and reappeared, nor did he know why they persisted for uneven amounts of time, but he did know that he had to hide the evidence before she noticed. Easier said than done, as she noticed the smallest things. He dropped the mirror onto the sand before backing out of his little shelter.

"Reyes, what are you doing?" Lilly called.

"Just…wondering." He turned towards the ocean and saw her almost pacing within the water, Sunny still asleep on her shell. He smiled at the sight, finally feeling his mind ease. He trotted down the wet sand to her.

"You haven't been sleeping again," she said almost immediately, frowning at him.

"You don't miss a thing, do you?"

"Of course not. Tell me about it."

"Nightmares… They were different, but I kept seeing Brendan's face…his last face…" He choked a little and Lilly lowered her head to the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry, bad stuff doesn't belong here."

"I don't want you to be sad though, so talk."

"No, no, I'm fine, really…" She raised her head to narrow her eyes at him. He traced his fingers over his heart. "Swear." Luckily she didn't have enough time to protest, because Sunny stirred.

"Mornin'?" She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Hi, Momma, Daddy."

"Hey, Sunshine." Reyes put his hands under her flippers to lift her up. She was just about two feet tall, but then again she had yet to hit a growth spurt. "Sleeping late?"

"Mm." She yawned again. "I'm hungry, can I get fish?"

"Berries, Sunshine, Berries." She pouted, flapping her flippers in frustration.

"No! Fish!"

"It's just fish, Reyes. You and your vegan thing," Lilly said, wrinkling her nose but still smiling. "It's the natural order of things."

"Doesn't mean I like it. What's wrong with my Berries?"

"Nasty!"

"You know how she is when she gets like this," Lilly said. "I'll get some fish, alright?"

"Fine," he grumbled, setting her down on the sand. She cheered triumphantly, practically flopping around on the sand. He kept her away from the water, knowing that he couldn't catch up to her if she started swimming, and entertained her with his seed pods. He removed two and made them blossom into large sunflowers, which she made him tie to one of the knobs on her shell.

"Daddy, you look tired," Sunny said as he used his mirror to play sunlight across the sand.

"No, I don't."

"Nah! Can't fool me! I'm a jeeneeus! Momma says so!"

"She's one to talk." He tossed the mirror over his shoulder with a snort.

"Why?"

"It's…well…I've been having bad dreams. A lot of them."

"Ask Momma!" Sunny rested her flippers on his leg. "She always makes the bad dreams go away!"

"Not these dreams, trust me." She frowned at the sadness in his voice.

"You wanna hug?"

"I don't…" She tried to anyway, her flippers not quite able to bend around his body. He caved and hugged her to his chest. "Thanks, Sunshine." He looked up and saw Lilly returning, two fish on her shell. He released Sunny to chase after her as he heard his PokéNav ring. "I'm sorry," he told Lilly as she passed the fish onto Sunny.

"It's okay, I'm used to it," Lilly smiled. "Go help save the world again."

"Never the world, sweetheart. That's just wishful thinking." He went back to his little shelter to open his rucksack and answer his PokéNav.

"I know I'm not interrupting, so I won't apologize for it," she said immediately.

"You kind of are interrupting, but enough banter." Azalea laughed on the other end.

"There's a disturbance that's suspiciously rebel-ish in Dewford, and you're the next revolutionary that's overseas."

"Well, about fifty miles from Dewford overseas, but why nitpick, right? And why not Kim and Leroy? They're overzealous when it comes to fighting."

"Those two are fighting in Sinnoh right now. You won't be spending too much time away from her. For you, this should be a piece of cake."

"Even a little bit of time away from either of them is too much for me." He glanced up when he heard Lilly coo appreciatively, Sunny giggling as well, and he pulled a face. "And thanks for making me admit that. I'll never hear the end of it now." Azalea started laughing.

"You're so cute in love, Reyes. But I digress. Can you get there with your boat?"

"It would probably be stretching, but yes, I suppose."

"Then we're good to go. Also, Tex says beep-beep-beep-hi." Reyes just hung up before he busted a vein at Tex's name. He went to Lilly and put his arms around her neck. She hummed against his cheek in disappointment.

"Really, it won't be long."

"Be safe. Sunny, Daddy's going away for a little bit."

"What?" Sunny exclaimed through a mouthful of Magikarp. "Daddy's always going away…"

"Saving the world isn't easy to do." He crouched down to get eye level with her. "I'll be back before sunrise, promise."

"Okay. Don't sleep late, and if you see strange Pokémon then come straight back!"

"Ha… Promise." He hugged her for a long while, relishing the feel of her heart against his chest. The first time he felt it—or more specifically, the first time he ever held Sunny—he was scared with thoughts of another life in his hands, but slowly he became used to it. He released her to the sand and she instantly clung to Lilly's flipper, which was the same size as her little body. Lilly smiled at him as he went to the pier and untied his boat.

"Remember how, three years ago, I promised that we would someday live this life?" he called to her. "I'm making another promise: I will be able to stay with you and Sunny, and we can sit and enjoy sunsets and night swimming and everything else you want!"

"And have five more kids," she called back. It had been a long time since she could make Reyes flush in embarrassment, but her power was just as strong as ever.

"We'll talk about that later!"

* * *

Reyes wasn't in the best condition when Lilly found him. Hell, he was scarred for life, to put it lightly. He very nearly sleepwalked his way to Lilycove just to get as far from Fortree and its nightmares as possible, and even then he still didn't feel far enough. She had been on her way back to Pacifidlog when she spotted him, and they spent the rest of the night just sitting there since Reyes couldn't bring himself to move any farther. Then, as dawn broke across the sky, she coerced him onto her shell and took him to Pacifidlog, where she had been staying since the rebels had taken up residence in Sootopolis City. Her friends were there too, Marla and Wilma and Emmi, and they took care of him for a few weeks as he tried to wrap his mind around what had happened.

Lilly was way, way nicer than he deserved, and he thanked Arceus every day that he could have her. She was patient through his worst days, days when he would retreat to the docks and curl up and refuse to be moved and days when he was shouting through series of nightmares. He had seen too much, seen his friends get gutted and ripped apart and burned and frozen and electrocuted, but Brendan was like the whisper that started the avalanche, and suddenly it was too much for him to take.

After that event, Reyes started searching for Alakazam, and instead, Alakazam found him, being psychic and all, and accepted Reyes' request to join his group, the group which had officially become the revolutionaries. He spent a lot of time going in and out of Pacifidlog after that, visiting several cities in Hoenn and trying to push back the rebels. The revolutionaries didn't succeed, obviously, but the rebels weren't overthrowing any more cities, which gave the humans enough places to sit and catch their breath. The constant stream of work kept him busy, and with his mind occupied, his life didn't have as much of a chance to bother him. He could never simply sweep things under the rug, not in ten years and not in ten thousand, but he managed to work through his issues to a socially-functional level.

She laid her Egg four weeks after that, and Reyes quickly learned the feeling of a panic attack. There were no problems as her Egg hatched, and the two of them became three. It wasn't like having Brendan back, not by a long shot, but there was sunshine in his life again.

He saw the disturbance in Dewford before he docked there. It was a bunch of batty rebels, coincidentally in the Zubat family, led by a belligerent Slaking that made short work of Crasher Wake's Pokémon. The species was slow and lazy—well, except for Vigoroth—but when they were motivated enough to move, they could tear down with their high reserves of strength. Reyes secured his boat, then he hit the shore running. The Slaking was a snore away from taking down somebody's house with his fists before Reyes tangled his wrists with vines, binding them to the sand. He gave an angry grunt as his eyes set on Reyes coming up on the beach.

"Revolushinary?" he slurred, saying it like any words further than "Lemme sleep" were an effort to get past his lips.

"Who else?" Reyes bound the Slaking's other wrist as well, tying it down against a light post. He tightened the vines to ensure that he couldn't break through even on one of his better days and began to dial the police's number on his PokéNav. The nearest Jenny was in Petalburg, which meant that she could take a boat to Dewford. He himself liked using Mr. Briney's boat—he was a nice old fellow, and his Pelipper alongside her baby Peeko were nice company.

Suddenly his PokéNav went flying from his hands into the water and he was flat on his back with a purple rat sucking the chlorophyll from his shoulder. He swatted the Zubat away only to get three more in its place, and they were covering a lot of ground considering their size. He didn't have any leaves to work with since they were on an island of majority sand and rocks, and he could only produce vines from bare skin, which he was very much lacking with three Bat Pokémon getting their fill of him. He had to wonder how they didn't get sick—blood was a lot different from chlorophyll after all—but then another thought occurred to him: for photosensitive Zubat to be in direct sunlight, they had to have been domestically trained, but surely not by that torpid Slaking. He bent his head backwards to look at the water, and he put all his energy into dragging it forward. A small bit of it hit the sand about three inches further than the rest. He continued pulling it mentally, his brain hurting from the effort, and eventually the water was touching his skin. With one final groan he swept the Zubat away with it, dragging them under so that their wings were held down by the water's weight and letting them be swept out to sea.

"Nice trick," a Crobat said, the only Crobat in the bunch. It stood out from the pair of Golbat and the other handful of pesky Zubat. "You're a Grass-type though."

"It's called Hidden Power." _Though it _has_ drained me, _he thought, listing to one side.

"I haven't had my fill yet, so don't keel over."

"It will take a lot more than you all to send me to Hell." Reyes moved to tangle the Crobat in his vines, but it was a lot faster than him, especially when he was so exhausted, and considering the real fight hadn't even started yet, he was damned. He wanted to call Azalea but his PokéNav was probably confusing the hell out of some bottom-feeder Pokémon now, and her telepathy was nowhere near strong enough to reach him all the way across Hoenn. On that note, Alakazam's telepathy probably wasn't that strong either…probably. Just in case, he made sure his thoughts were extra frantic, even if he kept his poker face while the Crobat darted around him, fangs leaving little pinpricks in Reyes' skin as it nipped him repeatedly.

Reyes focused the sunlight down into his body, then he redirected it at the Crobat. The issue was it moved much too quickly for him to catch and much too wildly for him to guess with. He brought the sunlight down and fried the foundation of the light post holding the Slaking in place, then he clutched the severed vines and pulled as hard as he could. He probably permanently damaged his arms with the weight and force, but he slammed the tower down away from any houses to fill the air with sand. The bats panicked, blinded, and started shrieking to detect his location. He jumped from the ground and braced himself against the wall of a rocky ledge before propelling himself forward onto a house's tiled roof, then he pushed off again to grab onto the disoriented Crobat, binding its wings together with his vines. He hit the wall of the Pokémon Gym hard enough to crack it, then he strung his vines around the Gym logo before jumping forward again with the vines trailing behind him. He managed to catch the frantic Zubat within the net, but the Golbat and Slaking were still free. The Slaking roared as the air cleared.

"_Guraaah,_ damn revolutionary!" He brought his fist down on the Gym to smash it to bits, then swung his other hand in the same move to swat Reyes from the air like a bug, smashing him into the ocean hard enough to leave bruises. The good part was the Slaking hurt his subordinate; the bad part was he hurt all parts of Reyes. He hauled himself back to the shore, opening his seed pods to the sunlight. Still, it wouldn't work fast enough when he had to keep moving. He rolled out of the way as the Slaking roared past, then Reyes sliced down in between the Slaking's shoulder blades. Crimson blood spurted over his skin, staining it a nasty shade of pinkish-purple as the Slaking started running, swatting down his cohorts in his frenzy. He started to stray closer to the homes and Reyes, thinking on his feet, dug his right blade in deeper, paralyzing the Slaking's right arm.

"Stop and back away from the people. Do that or you might leave with one less arm than you came with." Of course, he was bluffing. Even at full power, his leaf blades couldn't cut through solid bone and thick muscle like that. He realized the Slaking had stopped moving and chalked it up to blood loss, sliding from his back to the sand. He started rifling through his rucksack for a cellphone—there was a good chance he'd over-packed, he was that meticulous at times—but found he was really stuck. The Dewford dwellers were still shell-shocked from the attack despite its minor scale. He did hear from Crasher Wake's Pokémon somebody had already called the authorities, however, and that they were well on their way. He focused on tying up the Slaking when he noticed that the Crobat's goonies were gone from his vines. A few Zubat on their own weren't too much trouble, maybe a few dead Mareep or something similar would mark their presence, but those guys seemed a little smarter than the usual brainless followers.

He felt the Slaking stir beneath him a second before he gave a huge roar and rose to his feet, throwing Reyes back against the rocky cliffs hard enough to smash his seed pods and snap his tail clean off. He fell on his face in the hot sand, his mind and vision blurring.

"What'd you say before? Ya had to be at Mossdeep or somewhere? Well, doesn't matter if _I_ don't remember, Batty does, fa sure." Reyes could barely understand him through the blood rushing in his ears, but he understood the implications well enough: he had, as he expected, put his family in danger. And it was his fault. _His_ fault. He was losing the people important to him yet again because of his carelessness, his stupidity, his fault…

* * *

Reyes was startled awake by something licking his face. He opened his eyes and saw a police Manectric standing beside an Officer Jenny. Dewford was full of police and Nurse Joys and repair Pokémon and—

"Pacifidlog!" he shouted when he finally recovered his wits, pushing Jenny and her Pokémon away to stand up. The action made him see stars from how fragile his body was to begin with. "I have—to get—to Pacifidlog!"

"Relax! You're too injured for this," the Manectric said, sparking defensively. Reyes could've cared less if he was deep fried.

"I have to get to Pacifidlog…" He looked at the sky and saw the sun was setting whereas it was early noon before—he had lost too much time already. He went past them, moving fast despite the bad limp he had in one of his legs, and found his boat was still there, albeit crowded by several police boats. He also could've cared less that he scratched all of them on the way out, as his mind was focused on one thing, as hard as that was with the pain warring for priority.

The ride back to Pacifidlog felt twice as long, and that sense of time stretching to ridiculous proportions was so much like that day three years ago that he almost had a breakdown in the middle of the ocean, but he pushed forward. He finally saw Pacifidlog miles before he reached it, and he was probably ruining the boat's engine gunning it so hard. He reached the end of the beach and hopped onto the sand before the boat even stopped, not caring to dock it properly. He moved as quickly as he could and reached the telltale marks of the part of the shore that they called home. He slowed, then he stopped.

"God, Lilly…"

His shelter had been tugged apart, the meager belongings he kept inside tossed all over the beach. Maybe it was Arceus, but he found his hand mirror first. He picked it up and saw his despair looking just as severe as it felt. He moved farther and found more: Sunny's first shed skin, old wishbones, a knob from Lilly's shell, sunflowers… He felt something under his foot and realized that it was buried within the sand. He bent over to dust it clean and—

Reyes bolted from his spot, his head spinning and his stomach clenching. He threw up somewhere, then he threw up again out of sheer panic. _Sunny,_ was all he could think.

_…__If Sunny's…_there_…then where's Lilly…?_

_—__Do I even want to know?_

He slumped down on the sand but no tears would fall. It seemed like he had finally run out. He crouched there for a long while, refusing to blank out again, refusing to crack. He still had a job to do, and even if he had to duct tape his soul together to do it, then he would. People and Pokémon counted on him to "save the world…" Lilly and Sunny counted on him… Azalea and Kim and Leroy and Eoin counted on him… Sunny and Brendan were counting on him…

He found his PokéNav—well, a spare—buried a few feet away. He cleaned the sand from it enough for it to work, and he dialed the number. "BZZT BZZT—SECRET—_beep_—CODE PLEZZZ?"

"Tex… Tex it's me…"

"REYES-REYES? WHY DO YOU SOUND-ND SO—"

"It doesn't matter, just bring a bag to this location… A little one." Tex was quiet as it processed that. It didn't understand emotions like sadness or despair, but it could understand pain to a certain degree.

"YEAH—_bzzt autocorrect 'YES'—_YES, I WILL-ILL DO IT. DO—_emphasize 'YOU'—_YOU NEED ANYTHING?"

"I…" He lost his train of thought as he stared at the ocean. _I've never seen the ocean before, _Brendan said a long time ago. _Is it scary because it's big, or is it big because of all the Pokémon inside? Cuz I mean, if it's another world full of friends, I don't mind it that much._

"HN?"

"Time, Tex, just time." He hung up and let the PokéNav hit the sand with a heavy breath, and Reyes sat back to watch the sun set. "A lot of time." That happened just one year before his life was uprooted by a ridiculous kid named Dominic.


	17. 25 No Escape Except to Die

**2.5. No Escape Except to Die**

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"The hell is that?" Dominic muttered, turning his ears away from the repetitive noise. Still it persisted. Finally, he gave in and cracked his eyes open, but instead he found himself out of the Pokémon Center and lying on a coastline somewhere. The sky and sea were both dark, and by the smell of salt in his fur despite being far into the sand, it was a high-tide day. Aside from sea salt and a bit of metal, the air was tasteless. For all he knew he could've been on another planet, since all he could see in any direction was sand or ocean.

Suddenly the wind began to pick up, his mane blowing away from his face as dark thunderclouds rolled in and swirled around the sky. His heart ached a little bit as if he'd seen it all before, yet it was completely unfamiliar; still, something deep inside of him felt pained. He heard a noise and raised his ears, staring hard at the blurred horizon. Though his eyesight was hampered by the extreme darkness (huh, that was new) he thought he could see a boat in the distance. He groaned, covering his head and falling onto his stomach.

"Hurts… Everythin' hurts like hell…"

"Then just die," the King said, taking a fistful of Dominic's hair and bringing his head up. His mouth curled into a snarl. "Then the pain will be gone and so will you, and I won't have to hear your pathetic whining."

"Whuh… Wha's goin' on? Where're we?"

"Exactly where we last were. Just as every other time your psychotic mind sees me, it's an illusion. You're still drugged like a wild animal in the Pokémon Center and I'm still trapped there with you."

"I'm what?" He heard that beeping pick up again and dug his claws into the sand with irritation. "Can that damn sound stop already?"

"It could, but then you'd die," he said flippantly. "And besides, I need a word with you."

"R-Really?" King didn't answer him directly, but he released Dominic to fall back into the sand.

"About that horrible show you put on for Blaziken." He suddenly reared back and kicked Dominic in the stomach, sending him rolling across the sand until he came to a stop on his side. "Really? Running to Alakazam's little soldiers, trying to get them back on that Sceptile's side?" He moved forward as the wind picked up, ears folded back in warning. "And as if that wasn't enough, you had to go running for the others. Begging them to believe you that Alakazam would have their heads. All you have for your efforts is a hospital stay, and the rebels died anyway." Dominic blinked through the pain and saw the beginning of a torrent soaking into the sand. "You're _weak_, Dominic. The weak deserve to die and that includes you."

He buried his claws to the hilt in Dominic's chest, and it was maybe three seconds before blood spurted around them like cracks in a dam. He opened his mouth to gasp but more blood came out instead, causing him to break into a coughing fit as he tried to clear his throat to breathe. The King smirked and pulled his claws free, the blood flow increasing, then he slowly began to tear and peel as one would with an orange, picking away Dominic's fur to bare his skin which quickly joined his fur on the ground.

It was his fault for his moment of weakness, he figured, because the King was there to shield his weaknesses from everyone. It was his due punishment… The rain fell even harder over them and Dominic could feel the waves lapping at his side on top of that, worsening the pain in his chest. He deserved it, didn't he? For failing to protect his fellow rebels, for failing to protect Reyes, for failing against his own weaknesses… He deserved it, didn't he?

* * *

Dominic's body was beyond his control, but he could still hear. His heart monitor was always going steady if somewhat slow, and Reyes sometimes tapped his claws along with his heartbeats. Sometimes he counted them aloud too.

_Seriously, you're still here? I'm a lost cause, you know. Already have three paws in the grave. Go live your life already, dumbass._

Footsteps moved rapidly during the day and slowed a bit at night, giving him a sense of time. And every day one set of feet went to his room. Reyes exchanged pleasantries and tried and failed to hide his unease. They always shared this exchange:

"Will he wake up soon?"

"Not yet, it seems. No changes in any of his vitals. He was in terrible condition when he was admitted, you know. His body still needs time to heal, or if it can't—"

"It will heal. He'll get better. I just…I'd like to know when."

"Well, Reyes, we can't predict that."

_You're waiting on me? Major dumbass! Go, save yourself already!_

"Dominic, open your big mouth already. I know it's painful for you at this point, being quiet."

_I'll show you a big mouth!_

"I thought it was a blessing at first—"

_Shaddup, you stupid—stupid—_

"—but it's been almost two weeks. It doesn't feel right without you riding my ass. I make fun of you and you _attempt _to hurt me over it—call me crazy, but I started to like our little routine. I even miss the King, that certainly makes me crazy. Still, it's what friends do."

_It's what friends do. _Was it? He never had a friend like Reyes before. Did that mean…he was better than a normal friend? Among the rebels, friends were those whom you could trust not to kill you when your back was turned, maybe give you helpful information occasionally. But something more than that…a best friend? Were they _best_ _friends?_ The thought made him giddy with happiness.

"Still not waking up, huh? Well, at least I know you won't be giving me shit for my heart-to-heart."

_Ah…aha…the feeling's mutual…but you can't hear me, can you…_

"I'm gonna go patrol, okay? Don't wake up without me 'else I'll kick your ass."

_Rey…Reyes, don't leave please? I…'m…scared, I'm so scared, I don't think I _can_ get up…please, don't leave…please…_

* * *

Dominic wasn't in that weird beach anymore, instead somewhere he recognized a lot better: the shore outside Steven's house. He sat on the front steps, which were a little damp from ocean spray, and stared at the sunrise until his eyes hurt.

"You're going to ruin your stupid eyes," the King said, sitting next to him.

"You're…not gonna kill me."

"Can't." He crossed his arms over his chest, which looked to be much more effort than it was. "You're the one calling shots, remember?"

"Yes…this is my body. I'm the one in charge, aren't I? I'm Dominic—"

"And I'm Rex," he said in the same tone. "I may not be what you _are,_ but I am what you could have been." He gave Dominic a pointed look before staring at the water, which was clear compared to its steely color earlier. Dominic realized that it was the first civilized conversation he ever had with that guy, and if it had to be caused by the grave looming over him, so be it.

"Well, I'm not you after all. I'm better. Reyes believes that, so I believe it too."

"Reyes." He made a face like he tasted something disgusting. "What does he know? Was he there? Was he _ever_ there? No! _I_ was."

"It doesn't matter if he was or wasn't there."

"It makes _all_ the difference. Look, Dominic, when it all comes down to it, I'm your only friend." Dominic snorted. "Snort all you want but it's true. I'm the only one to know every dark crevice of you and not go away."

"Because you've committed half those crimes in my name!"

"A guy needs to sharpen his claws every once in a while. That's Pokémon nature, that's _Dark-type nature_. If we were supposed to be all goody-goody-two-leaves like your BFF over there, then we would've been Fairy-types or something, but guess what? We're not. We're not good guys and we'll never be."

"…No," Dominic said, but he hesitated, which the King picked up on immediately.

"You may think you're immune to my spiel, but you believe it already, I can feel it. After all, I'm still you. I'm not telling you anything you haven't already considered. —Oh, this is new, and it's _rich._" He grinned to Dominic's glowering face. "_If I kill Reyes, we won't have to hurt anymore?_" Dominic growled.

"You wouldn't."

"Who says so? I exist because you want me to, to bury your failures where no one can see. Your hesitance to this solution is my readiness to finish it. That's the dividing line between me and you."

* * *

Dominic knew he was closer to waking when the pain hit. Dying people didn't feel pain, so it was a good sign…in theory. In reality, it felt like his body was being ripped in half. When he came to, there was so much noise on top of the pain he couldn't focus enough to get a clear picture of the situation.

"—vitals are skyrocketing—"

"—mething? He's in pain—"

"—highest dosage—"

"—mething else! He's _hurting_ an—"

"— ed you to leave—"

He didn't think it was a blessing before when Sharpedo beat him into unconsciousness, but now that all his injuries were striking with a vengeance…

His ears twitched when a hand landed on his head. "Keep fighting," Reyes said. It was a warm sensation unlike the burning agony he was in. It reminded Dominic he wasn't alone, he had a best friend waiting for him. So he wouldn't lose, not even to his own body.

* * *

"Hey." The King was lying on his belly and basking in the afternoon sun before Dominic caught his attention. "I'm…sorry."

"You're what?" The King opened an eye to glare. "What's going on?" Dominic sat next to him.

"We're alike. You were right."

"Of course I am." He scoffed and rolled onto his back, giving Dominic a smirk. "So what?"

"You said you're here to cover my weaknesses, so I want you to cover Reyes. He's my biggest weakness."

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"Nope, completely serious." Dominic sighed and folded his arms. "He's done so much to protect me, I want to be the one protecting him. But I can't, not like this. I don't even have the strength to open my stupid eyes. So I'm asking—no, _begging_ for your help. I'll get on my knees if you want."

"Okay, let me see if I'm hearing right: you're giving me free reign in the belief I'll go along with your wish?" The King's smirk turned to a shit-eating grin. "You're really an idiot, you know?"

"I know." And he smiled fondly at the thought. "Take it or leave it. It's a one-time offer."

"You don't have to tell me twice." He pushed himself up and grabbed Dominic's face with his claws, squishing his cheeks. "No takebacks, alright?"

"Awwight."

Then the King covered his eyes.


	18. 26 Unworthy Blasphemous Soul

**2.6. Unworthy Blasphemous Soul**

King had never been "awake" per say despite his immense strength, and that was only because at the end of the day, he was just a sub-personality. However, the effort to keep him restrained was too much to comprehend, and just "letting go" made Dominic feel like he lost two tons of weight.

He opened his eyes and grimaced, though it wasn't exactly _him _doing the grimacing. He made to sit up but found his muscles were severely weakened by the medication on top of their original injuries, however it took him but a moment to get used to the feeling and tear the I.V. needle from his wrist. Blood drained in a thin stream for a moment before he covered it with a gauze patch. He cracked his neck and shoulders, trying to reacquaint himself with that peculiar corporeal feeling, just as the door opened and that frustrating Chansey bustled in with a tray of food. She gasped, seeing him rising to his feet.

"You shouldn't be—"

"_Tsk, tsk, tsk._ Nobody tells the King what to do or what not to do." He grabbed her head, startling her and causing her to drop the tray to the linoleum with a clatter. He didn't even need to do an attack, he just growled at her and she fainted. Well, it helped that he had the growl of a wild beast. He disconnected himself from the rest of their machinery, and as the monitors let out a warning noise, he figured he had a minute or so until the cavalry arrived, Reyes included. And he did not want that.

He glanced at the window and found that it was unlocked and that this area of Lilycove City was amazingly scarce. _It must be my lucky day,_ he thought with a smirk.

He jumped through the window and remembered just in time that he was on the second floor. He clutched his legs and rolled into a ball, using his mane to catch himself when he hit the sandy ground. He got to his feet and dusted himself off, shaking his hair free of bits of sand before cracking his joints for good measure.

"Oh?" He smirked when he detected a certain scent in the air. He started walking and maybe made three steps before the pain brought him down to his knees. Oh, the limitations of Dominic's body were quite annoying. Still, beggars couldn't be choosers, and so if the King had to roam about on all fours like some sort of untrained beast because he could barely stand upright, so be it.

He backed into an alley to clear his personal space and his mind and took a deep breath. There it was again: street vendors, human sweat, and…that guy. The King let his eyes rise to the Lilycove Museum. Just above it, a distant figure circled restlessly in the air. He started scaling the building closest to him, using his claws to dig into the weak plaster of the wall. He climbed onto the roof of the building and scaled the small weathervane on it for extra height, nearly catching that guy's eye.

He pushed off from the weathervane and landed at the edge of the roof, staring down into the alley between the buildings until he jumped again to land on the higher one. It seemed he was atop the Lilycove Department Store, as there was a nice patio on the roof with fake plants and benches to rest on. He stared at the people up there, people and Pokémon alike, and felt a low growl building in the back of his throat. A little Caterpie with a grown Butterfree approached him then, eyes wide and curious, and it took all his strength not to tear them down right then and there. "The hell are you all looking at?" They scattered like leaves in the wind, and just in time as well.

"It's you!" Salamence screeched from his position above the Lilycove Museum. "Traitor!" His wings blew up a storm as he flapped over and alighted heavily, startling the easygoing residents from their rest and back into the safety of the store. Just as Dominic remembered, the Salamence still had a big scar on his left hind leg and only part of his right wing—not that it slowed him down in any way. That remaining wing of his had the power of five, that was the strength of an ex-Elite Four, and his raw emotion doubled that power.

"Maybe not the _me _you're looking for." Salamence ignored his remark and released an Elite Four-leveled Flamethrower. Just the heat of it burned Dominic's skin like weeks standing in the sun, melting away the plastic and fabric of the seats around them and scorching the rubber plants. He put up his own fire as the torrent of flames enveloped him, feeling his skin prick and itch from the intense eat as his hellfire barely held up. The Flamethrower ended just in time for King's flames to scatter, and he watched Salamence race towards him, maw open and teeth glinting in the sunlight.

The King braced himself before pushing backwards, using the charred remains of a planter to launch himself in the air and out of Salamence's path. He crashed into the mangled bits of a swing-set instead and recovered with a growl, tail bashing the blackened metal into filings and knocking them out towards the King. He dragged his claws on the metal-tiled ground, digging up a few squares before launching them at Salamence. His monkey-wrench jaw and mallet teeth chewed them into paper balls.

"You should see an orthodontist about that," the King said very seriously. Salamence didn't take the advice, however, and backed up slightly to flap his wings, creating a whirlwind of powerful gales that knocked King off his feet and sent him rolling to the edge, where the barrier stopped him from falling over. He regained his balance and he grinned at Salamence.

"I thought I had a friend," Salamence said in a low voice, creeping forward with his tail lashing from side to side. "But I don't befriend liars or traitors, let alone ones that get us killed."

"…Me?" He smirked, which turned into full-blown laughter that he just couldn't control. He met Salamence's eyes and relished the tormented expression he made before he dropped down on two legs, face contorted in pain. Even Dominic wasn't too sure of what the Salamence was seeing, but he did know it had been dragged forward from the deepest pits of his psyche. He wasn't feeling artsy enough to make his own illusion, but anything sufficed when his playing deck was limited. He straightened, absently rubbing the bandages over his chest as his muscles ached from the stress he placed on them. Hopefully his illusion held long enough for him to run. "Well, this has been fun—"

Salamence laughed, cutting the King out of his reverie. He rose to his feet with his wing lifting him off the ground. "White Herb. I ate it before I came here," he said to his thunderstruck expression. "I've known you for two years, King. You think I don't know your tricks?" He opened his jaws and released another powerful Flamethrower, razing the remains of the store as the flames surged towards him. He put his arms up defensively, drawing the debris around him to protect his body as Rock Tomb. The fire leaked through the cracks in his makeshift shield, singeing his fur and poisoning his already injured lungs with heavy smoke. He was forced to release the rocks just as Salamence ended the attack, however he didn't take a break before he returned with Shadow Claw, striking Dominic in the face and most definitely leaving some more scars.

Salamence reared back a few feet, giving him a bit of a reprieve before swinging his tail forward and slamming it into his small skull, blurring his vision with huge stars and then darkness. The King only snapped out of it when a horrible pain surged in his arm. Salamence's jaw was clamped around it with no intention of letting go, but that wasn't the bad part. Darkness poured from the holes in his skin, swarming him like the oh-so-familiar memory of that Sableye from seemingly long ago.

_I rule the darkness…Dominic does not. It will eat us alive because of his fears._

He shouted and screamed despite himself, feeling his skin prick with a thousand times the pain the sun could cause, then he kicked and bit Salamence as his skin blistered beneath his fur. Salamence released him, his blood running down his teeth, and pumped his wing to soar just out of reach. Rex fell to his knees, the pain hurting much, much more as the darkness dragged Dominic's deepest, darkest memories from his core, turning them into white-hot agony.

_Steven… Steven…_

_I don't want to see it!_

_His blood is everywhere…_

_I don't want to remember_

_Don't make me remember!_

_Blood and Steven's body and dying howls and endless endless nights_

_Hurts so bad King makeitstop hurting take the pain_

_Kill to survive or be killed and it's over, no hope—or more hope for long sleep_

He heard Salamence give a screech and raised his head. His wing was tied down to his legs and he was wildly spewing flames trying to burn the restraints away—vines, Rex realized, vines were holding him in place. He blinked repeatedly as his vision blurred, and somewhere inside of him he again felt that line between him and Dominic blur. He sighed, clenching his chest as his heart raced out of his control. He was surprised it hadn't arrested yet. "You're… You're defending the wrong guy, Sceptile…" Reyes braced his heels on the ground as he embedded the vines into the concrete, locking them in place, and glanced over his shoulder at him.

"Maybe not," he said with an almost concerned expression. "Even if you are the King, the look in your eyes belongs to Dominic."

He dropped his claws to the ground, watching them blur before his eyes. He was very aware of the blood that began to pool around them, and when he didn't have much blood to spare in the first place, he was worried.

_I DON'T WANT TO DIE I don't want DON'T WANT TO to die i don't want DIE_

He blinked and felt his jaw drop a little. Were they really having the same thoughts? Was he really that far gone?

"Help," he whispered to Reyes.

Yes, he was that far gone after all.

Reyes froze for a moment, seemingly surprised, then he nodded once. Dominic wasn't relieved, however. He knew Reyes enough to know that he wouldn't be able to focus properly on the battle if he knew Dominic was in critical condition behind him. It was a miracle his PTSD wasn't acting up right then, but maybe he was just better at hiding it.

Reyes' vines finally snapped under Salamence's strength. He roared in anger, stomping his feet with fire puffing madly from his mouth. Reyes shook his hands out and gritted his teeth, ready to fight, but Rex knew he couldn't fight that guy alone, it was impossible. His head fell and hit the ground and he could feel himself losing his breath. Well, he had a long run, it wasn't good but it was long, although he wished he could've gotten to visit Kalos once before he died, he heard it was a cool place—

_I smell a Gardevoir._

Rex blinked a few times, thinking he was imaging things on the verge of death, but when he brought himself to his feet he saw he wasn't imagining things. There was another Pokémon behind Salamence, and although Reyes didn't notice her initially, his vines snapped apart when he finally laid eyes on her. Salamence roared in indignation and made to charge them before he was grabbed psychically, spittle flying from his maw as he struggled against the ethereal grip.

"I'll take care of this," Azalea said, her voice quiet yet carrying across to them. Reyes was shell-shocked, every muscle in his body frozen as she stepped forward, her scarred and blind eyes aglow with pink light. She looked at Reyes with an expression of such pain and betrayal that even Dominic felt it deep in his soul, then she wiped her face clean of emotion and put out her hands. "I'll take care of _you, _Reyes."


	19. 27 The Devil Is a Truth

**2.7. The Devil Is A Truth**

Reyes knew Azalea since…forever, and never once in his life had he seen her truly upset, but the look she gave him could only be described as such. It paralyzed him until Dominic tackled him out of the way, letting a powerful Psywave smash into the concrete where he was standing and uproot it like dirt.

"Azalea!" Reyes said once he found his voice. He didn't know he'd lost it. Azalea showed no signs of hearing him and put her strength into pushing Salamence aside. _Strength?_

"Rey…s…" Reyes remembered Dominic on top of him and quickly sat up, pushing the kid into an upright position as well. His limbs had almost reached ragdoll levels and his eyes were clouded, not entirely focused. "Fi…Fight 'er…ight back…"

"I won't. I _can't!_" Dominic's eyes were already narrowed in pain but they narrowed even more. His arms were trembling when he tried to push away and Reyes let him. He fell hard on his rear and immediately clutched his chest, his breath coming hard and shallow.

"Don't…make _me, _cuz…won'…t won't be pretty…"

"You're not going to touch her." His warning was in vain; Dominic was hardly in a condition to execute a process as basic as breathing, let alone join a fight. And as upset as Reyes was at the situation, he wasn't going to let Dominic keel over in the spot. He pulled off one of his seed pods and shoved it in his stupid mouth. Dominic growled but didn't put up much of a fight otherwise. The nutrients helped him marginally—at the very least, he could catch his breath without all of Hoenn hearing it. Azalea interrupted before he could speak, releasing another Psywave that split them apart.

"Yeah, well, she has no problem touching _us, _dipshit!"

"Dominic! Just shut up!" He first wondered how Azalea could have so much psychic power suddenly—it just wasn't possible by any safe or humane method. He also wondered why she would be chasing after them after so long on the run, as a Psychic-type able to "read" him like the back of her hand. She didn't give him time to think before the ground underneath his feet flooded with pink light. He braced himself before jumping away, the concrete exploding into a shower that pierced his back and ripped away two of his seed pods. She was again left vulnerable after the attack, which Dominic tried to take advantage of by rushing her. Reyes threw his arm out and coiled his vines around Dominic's midsection, holding him in place.

"Reyes! I'll slice you down with her!" He tried and failed to cut through the vines, his expression becoming desperate as Azalea slowly recovered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You won't hit me… Why do you still act like a hero?" she whispered. "You turned against us…against all of us, and you joined the enemy… You've always hated the rebels and what they stand for, so why…? _Why, Reyes?_" She suddenly wailed, throwing Reyes so hard that he cleared the barrier of the roof, Dominic falling with him because of the vines. They tumbled down to the asphalt of the street. Reyes felt the impact deep in his skeleton, giving him a bodily ache and a lingering blackness in his peripheral that made it hard to see Dominic until he landed on his stomach. Dominic had the audacity to pass out upon impact.

"Wake up, you bastard. You have no right to go to sleep." Reyes said, releasing the vines from his palms and pushing Dominic to the ground with his free hand. Dominic groaned as he revived. He dug his claws into his chest before he growled in annoyance and started slicing his bandages away.

"I wish you'd make up your mind." The last of the bloodied cloth fell in a heap on the ground. He gestured to the citywide distortion around them in disgust. "Do you want to live, or do you want to die by your _little friend's_ hands?"

"I don't—_neither. _Shut up. I can't focus—"

"Getting thrown around will do that to you," he said dryly. "Fighting back against Alakazam wasn't so hard, so why her?"

"She's been there… She's been there since forever…" He felt memories rising like the bile in his throat and choked it down. His breathing was picking up and fuzziness crept along the edges of his vision. "I just—I _can't_ fight her, okay?" Dominic's ears twitched and he frowned.

"Then let me do it." He was disconcertingly calm as he looked Reyes in the eyes, his being full of an unusual ice, and as Reyes stared, he realized he had seen that expression before—he saw it several times before, every time he looked at himself after Brendan was gone. He—the King—was someone who could, _would_ slay her without remorse. Azalea didn't deserve that.

"You would…make a mess of things," he said in a quiet voice, unsure if he was being metaphorical or literal. Dominic's look softened a little. "I'll…fight her."

"You should make it quick." His ears pricked up and his head snapped towards the store's roof as Azalea reached the edge. Reyes stood up, aware of the slowly-forming crowd around them and the danger that could arise for them from the two of them. On top of that, the Salamence was still in fighting condition despite her efforts, staying afloat just next to her. Reyes and Dominic exchanged a look instead of words, yet they understood each other perfectly as the two opponents descended on them.

Salamence crashed into Dominic with his claws out, however he was prepared and blocked the attack with his dark energy. Still, he was pushed back, giving Salamence enough time to attack again with Dragonbreath. Reyes was distracted from them as a car, previously parked on the curb, came barreling towards him. He raised his arms and extended his blades, stopping it in its tracks and shattering the windshield. He heard a _thud _and backed up to see that Azalea had landed on the roof of the car, eyes still hidden with the light of her energy as she thrusted her hands forward. Waves of pink exploded from her arms and body, spinning like boomerangs through the air until they reached Reyes. He turned and ran, feeling them raze his tail as they came within centimeters of slicing him into vines, and started pushing through the crowd as they jerked in surprise. As angry as Azalea was, he knew that she would never hurt humans.

"Don't try to run!" he heard her shout. He turned and looked over his shoulder in time to see a ball of ghostly energy zooming towards him and, consequently, the innocent humans and Pokémon gathered there. He used an Amoongus as a footstool, bouncing from its head and into the air to take the attack in his chest. The Shadow Ball ripped his energy away from his body forcefully, making him feel as if he just ran ten miles as he hit the ground shakily.

_Azalea, no…don't do this._

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" Someone in the crowd set off a chain of attacks headed for Azalea. Reyes swallowed the impulse to protect her, watching a series of attacks from Flamethrower to Earth Power fly towards her. Waving her hands, she created a psychic barrier that not only protected herself but directed the attacks back to their senders. Pokémon scattered to protect their masters as the attacks hit, creating an ensuing panic that escalated to the entire neighborhood as Azalea and Salamence's attacks destroyed homes and other property and caused several injuries. As Reyes watched, a Shadow Ball created by Dominic was dodged by Salamence and instead hit the Lilycove Department Store, ruining the first level and finally causing the building to give out. It seemed to fall in slow motion, topmost level collapsing in on the one below it with an ear-shattering _boom! _every time until the last one was wrecked, a rolling tsunami of debris and smoke ensuing after the crash that reduced visibility to zero.

"Damn it…" He backed away from the site trying to find one clear spot. He saw her silhouette appear just in front of him and raised his hands instinctively, firing a series of leaves sharpened to kill. He immediately cursed himself afterwards, however the attack didn't even hit her. The leaves stilled, a pink aura surrounding them as they darkened to nearly black, and he raised his arms just before they spun back towards him, ripping his skin to shreds. He saw another dark silhouette appear at ten o'clock, then two more appeared a few inches away until he was surrounded by them. "Why don't you just show yourself, huh? Why are you afraid to face me now?"

"I don't think you're one to talk." The shape at his left corner opened its eyes a second before he was blown back with a gust of Psychic. He skidded backwards on the street, unable to catch himself, and his back slammed into the door of an SUV, freezing him in place with the pain. He forced his eyes open and saw Azalea rushing him, her dress flapping wildly from her speed as she hovered a few inches above the ground. At that distance and in his state, she could kill him. She _would _kill him.

"I'll hate myself for this…"

He raised his arm and felt the dark energy coursing through his skin and leaf blades, feeling it surround them and lengthen them. He heard Azalea scream as his Night Slash cut deep into her chest.

Reyes watched her stumble back in alarm and surprise as she clenched her heart, blood running down her smooth skin from the laceration. It wasn't very deep at all, however the dark energy within was hurting her. She looked at him with such pain that he wanted to take it all back, but in all honestly, he _knew_ what he was getting himself into when he chose to get on that boat with Dominic. They were enemies if she stayed with the revolutionaries, and whether she was doing the right thing or not by staying with them, he had no idea, but their current standing was clear as crystal to him.

"D-Don't…attack… If you…me again…I'll have to…kill you," he whispered, the words hurting him like nothing else. She still stared at him, seemingly in shock, then her face became devoid of all emotions. She didn't say a word to him and he was happy—he didn't think he could handle a response anyway.

He felt an invisible pressure weigh heavily on his body, holding him back against the car and sealing his limbs in place. It would've been easy to break out of in normal circumstances, but there was a strange pain pulsing in his chest with nothing to do with his emotions. He pondered the feeling for a moment before meeting Azalea's eyes, seeing her sweating from exerting so much energy and the pain in her chest but still fighting. He realized it was her Synchronize, and as if they were still young ones, the connection it had with him was thicker than blood.

Salamence used his tail as a heavy weapon, slamming it down hard enough to uproot the asphalt of the street as Dominic sped out of its path. It seemed that he didn't even have the energy to put up an illusion or he would've done it by then. Instead he was making movements that put him inches from an attack and caused him to lose a few hairs each time Salamence swung his tail or claws or made for a bite, inches that shrunk each time. The next time Salamence swung his tail in Dominic's vicinity he didn't have time to dodge it; instead, he seized it and sunk his claws into his tough hide before opening his mouth and blowing a torrent of flames into his face. On top of being a Dragon-type, Salamence apparently had the skin of a boulder, causing him to not even blink before swinging his tail and tossing Dominic like a pesky Bug-type.

"Dominic!" Reyes didn't have much energy to spare but focused enough to create a vine in Dominic's path, winding it with several others until they were thick enough to catch him midflight. They merely stopped him in his path, not providing a soft impact, evident in his pained groan. He hugged the vines like a tree trunk. "Are you alright?" A bit of blood trickled from his hairline.

"You can see I'm not," he said and stuck his tongue out. Obviously, he was fine.

Azalea recovered and threw her arms up. A deep rumble sounded from the thin clouds above before they suddenly congregated and dropped a bolt of lightning. Reyes didn't have enough space to move and was hit, but being a Grass-type, the damage could have been a lot worse. He jumped backwards onto the car's roof, then he moved back further onto a street lamp. She stared up at him before her eyes were again consumed with light and the lamp began creaking. He teetered while trying to maintain his balance before toppling, but he didn't have much time to fall before the metal whipped around and coiled about his waist like an Arbok, holding him a few feet above ground. She attempted to draw closer and he used Bullet Seed in way of defense. She simply brushed them away with a psychic gust before drawing as close to him as physically possible without touching him, close enough that he could see his full reflection in her crimson eyes.

"I used to think that I knew you," she whispered, slowly dragging her hand down his cheek. "But the Reyes that I've known is long gone," she continued in a sharper tone, gripping his face tight enough to hurt, and without warning she pressed her lips to his. It felt wrong and almost sickening, as if he was kissing his mother, and more than that he could feel his energy draining even further the longer she stayed attached to him. He fought to pull from her grip but the steel lamppost held him firmly in place, binding everything up to his neck. He hated what he had to do, but he kissed her back, harder.

She stumbled in surprise, yet she still didn't break. Then, sure he had her in place, he started passing his seeds through his mouth and into hers. She swallowed reflexively before pulling away, hands over her mouth in alarm as he fought the urge to vomit at the strangeness of the situation. She clenched her stomach next, eyes wide and tearing up in pain as she bit down on her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. "W-What did y-you—" She didn't get to finish before a coughing fit seized her, forcing her down onto her knees in pain. She started spitting up, desperately trying to rid herself of the foreign entities, but Reyes could tell that it was too late from the surge of energy rushing through him. It felt like liquid fire running through his veins, it was so potent. He couldn't imagine that she had the same feeling however many times over.

"Leech Seed. Although it usually doesn't get passed on orally…as that would cause extreme pain."

She tried to speak but was cut off by a sudden rush of bile running down her chin. She covered her mouth, horrified, as a tiny sprout peeked through her fingers. She was forced to drop her hands as two more stalks inched their way out of her mouth like fingers from within, turning her snowy complexion a slight green to match her hair as she paled from the pain.

"It won't hurt for long," he said, hating every second he heard her pained moans. "You'll quickly run out of energy, and—"

He remembered her power boost and, consequently, the burning pain of it in his veins, and tried to imagine how she had gotten so much power suddenly. He twisted madly, trying to free his arms, but came up short and gave up, instead pulling his upper body so aggressively that both arms tore away. Thankfully, being in the sunlight, he could regrow them fairly quickly. Using his leaf blades, he sliced deep scores into the steel, weakening it but still not coming close to breaking free. He sighed in defeat, instead focusing on growing his vines through the exposed patches of dirt in the broken asphalt and letting them worm in between his body and his restraints.

Dominic was nearly dragging along, his movements were so sluggish. He was taking more hits than he was dodging, and blood was soaking through his fur from his reopened chest wound as he panted, fatigued and at his wits' end. Salamence opened his flaming maw and bit down on Dominic's left leg. He fell flat on his face as the smell of burning fur filled the air, yet Salamence clung with the tenacity of that Sharpedo from what felt like eons ago. Reyes raised his head to the sun, feeling the heat pierce his skin and fill every bit of his insides, giving it a slight glow before he redirected the energy outwards. Of course that damn Salamence dodged his Solar Beam, but Reyes did manage to extricate him from Dominic, although the burning hunk known as his leg would be useless for the remainder of their fight.

The kid groaned, pushing his torso up with his arms and shaking his head to clear it. He seemed only half cognizant as he inspected the damage to his leg. He dragged it forward a few inches to test it, which seemed too much as his eyes widened with pain. Nevertheless, Dominic persisted, pushing himself up until he was standing on his two feet, managing for maybe five seconds before he regressed into a sorry three-legged limp. Salamence whirled around, making a U-turn in the air before coming back with energy streaming from his body like water. Dominic backed away slowly before fully realizing the situation and turning to run—except he ran in Reyes' direction.

"Dominic—" Reyes didn't have the time to protect anybody but himself—as a matter of fact, he didn't even have the time to protect himself. Rather, his vines automatically covered him like a net, bearing the brunt of Salamence's Aerial Ace but not protecting himself or Dominic and Azalea from the wind that he carried, which cut through like solid blades. The lamp finally gave way and toppled to the ground, yet its grip on him remained and he was stuck on his back. Salamence glared and pressed his foot on Reyes' chest.

"I wonder what the King sees in you." He made to take a bite out of Reyes' face at which Reyes spit several large seeds into Salamence's open mouth. He choked as Reyes continued until his entire airway was blocked. He flew backwards, wild-eyed from asphyxiation, which was when Reyes noticed Azalea looming in his field of vision. He strained and struggled against the coiled street lamp, but although it creaked and groaned it refused to give out. Damn Lilycove's stable architecture. The pink glow around her returned on a greater scale, brightening until he had to squint to look at her properly. Her dress fluttered in a self-created breeze as the very ground rumbled, little pink sparks flying from the cracks in the asphalt and concrete.

"Alakazam granted my wish to show you the light," she told him, her voice echoing endlessly into the sky—or so it seemed. The sprouts peeking out of her mouth withered from the intensity of the energy surrounding her and broke away in the wind until they were just protons and electrons. She put a hand to her bleeding and broken heart, open for all the world to see, and closed her eyes. "He gave me the strength I needed because I would've been too weak otherwise, physically and emotionally… Now that I've warmed up, I can show you the full extent of the power that he has given me: the power of justice granted for me to deal with the wicked." Her eyes snapped open at "wicked," bright like miniature suns trapped in her skull.

That was when Hell broke loose in Lilycove City.


	20. 28 Magna Carta

**2.8. Magna Carta**

Azalea wasn't lying about the boost in her power level—that was the best understatement Reyes could come up with.

Buildings, trees, humans, and Pokémon were all tossed into the air as if gravity suddenly meant nothing, giving everybody a strange sensation of weightlessness for maybe three seconds before they started descending. All the Pokémon in the area, regardless of status, banded together, Psychic-types nullifying gravity a bit to slow their fall and Grass-types forming a soft bed of moss below. Suffice it to say it still _hurt _when they kissed the ground, and Reyes could tell right off the bat that there were casualties, however there was a much higher percent of injuries and Nurse Joys to help with those. He landed on a huge, foul-smelling flower most likely formed by a Vileplume, not really feeling any pain but getting the huge numb sensation of his body giving up. He tried not to look at the scene ahead of him but it was all he could see, and he felt an attack coming on again. His heart raced, his stomach clenched, and his mind went all sorts of places.

"N…Not again…" It became worse when a troublesome Pokémon landed on his stomach. "You've got to _stop_ _doing that already_."

"Bite me."

"Dominic."

"I literally can't move. My body won't listen to me."

"Mine either." They laid like that in the chaos for a while, Reyes trying to figure out why Azalea wasn't plucking his stem at the moment and Dominic with Salamence. Pokémon and people still scattered as wildly as Bug-types in the sunlight around them, bloody trails following them as they searched for help or just a quiet place to lay down and die. If for nothing else, Reyes enjoyed speaking to Dominic to keep his mind off the world and therefore sane. "I've been wondering. I don't understand why you're letting yourself get thrown around like a ragdoll."

"Why would I _let_ myself be thrown around? It's this damn body that Dominic let go to ruin." He growled, digging his claws into his abdomen as hard as possible without breaking the skin, even though there was already plenty of blood seeping into his thick fur. "And, well, maybe I don't want to eviscerate him— Maybe I can't," he corrected himself. "Because Dominic is such a—"

"I thought _you_ were the higher power." He snorted at the notion.

"I can only wish." He paused, eyes narrowed, then he sighed. "Somehow, through all this, Dominic still thinks him a friend. He hates himself for it, mind you, but he's no more inclined to fight back than you with that Gardevoir."

Reyes sighed, trying to take in as much sunlight as possible but finding it hampered by two things: the dust in the air and Dominic's body covering most of his. He could even feel the sprouts of new seed pods forming on his back as he tried to absorb the light, but so far all he was absorbing was Dominic's blood, giving his skin a pink tinge on top of the green.

Making it look as if he received a splash of paint on his front. Feeling more energized than before, he slowly sat up and pushed Dominic onto his knees. Then Reyes formed a seed and held it out.

"This will…give enough strength for you to run," he said, taking a breath to steady his ravaged body and mind. "As this is now my problem, I don't want or need you interfering."

"Me? Interfering?" He made to slap away the seed but missed, a combination of blood loss and apparently failing vision.

"You're strong. I _know _you're strong because I have enough scars to show for it. But this is something I need to handle _a-lone._ I won't get closure otherwise."

His face remained blank for a long time, then he roughly shoved Reyes' hand away. "I don't take orders from anyone," he said with a scowl. "If I want to run, which I _don't, _then I will. And if I want to stay and watch your ass get kicked to the moon, then I will. And I want to stay."

_I want to stay. _Such an odd phrase coming from the ruthless despot of a quarter of Hoenn. The same Zoroark who monopolized, terrorized, and brutalized would willingly put his life on the line on a battlefield for Reyes' sake. He thought about it for a few seconds before snickering.

"What's happened to you, King?"

"You," he answered plainly. "And your side girlfriend."

Reyes didn't even protest, turning to the side to acknowledge Azalea's silhouette slowly forming within the dust. Her arm was out and he quickly realized why: she had Salamence pinned in a psychic chokehold so strong his wings were stretching and contorting in a pained pattern. She looked like she was about to pass out, still green from Reyes' Leech Seed and her chest heaving with labored breaths. When he looked closer he saw what seemed to be hairline cracks in her skin as if she was a porcelain doll somebody dropped. He stood up slowly, hands up to deter her from attacking, and spoke deliberately: "Azalea, this can't be good for you. This amount of power isn't something that your body is used to—"

Dominic snorted. "I'll tell you what her body is used to."

"—and it might—no, it _will _kill you if you continue," he said, but her expression was as hard as ever. "Please, Azalea, don't kill yourself over me… I'll surrender to Alakazam if it means you'll stop." He didn't need to gesture to the extensive damage of Lilycove, it spoke for itself. Besides that, there were Pokémon and Trainers rising from the ashes of their city to fight back, and whether Azalea would be the one to fall or them, he didn't want to see it happen.

"I don't care! Reyes, have you lost your mind? Look who you're trying to defend!" She gestured at Dominic with distress and anger clear on her face. "Look who you betrayed Alakazam for! A degenerate, a heartless killer!" Dominic's ears folded back and he grumbled nothing pleasant.

"Listen here, you, before I slice away your ears, which are being awfully useless now—"

"Dominic you're not helping," Reyes interrupted.

"Helping _what, _exactly? Your sweet little heart-to-heart? Talking is useless, talking has _been_ useless, yet you're too full of yourself to see it. How about _I _talk to her huh, just to show you how useless it really is? Oi, Azalea, if you don't stop destroying the city, I'll rip you apart and let you meet your Trainer the painful way."

"Don't talk about Brendan," she yelled at him, startling Reyes. "You don't have the right."

"Oh, okay, I need to earn the _right._" He was unfazed as he straightened his stance and raised his nose. "How exactly do I earn that right? Attacking defenseless humans? And if that _is, _in fact, the case, I think I've had the right since forever."

"Dominic!" Reyes shouted.

"Shut _up, _you stupid Sceptile! What isn't clear to you about this situation? What we need is real, heartfelt action, and if that's what _I_ have to do to save _both_ our lives—"

Their attention was stolen away from each other as a Mightyena leapt upon Azalea, jaw open to bite down on her leg. She cried out in pain from the pressure and even more so as darkness swirled around the injury. More Mightyena began approaching then, seemingly from a pack, and bit at her from all angles, leaving nasty bloody marks in her formerly pristine figure. "Azalea!" he shouted as more Pokémon surged onto her, burying her within a mound of fur and leaves and tentacles. She gave another shrill cry before falling completely still under her living restraints. Dominic's claws on his shoulder kept him from jumping in and getting mangled.

"It's what's good for her. Just let it happen and leave your hands clean."

"They're already dirty," he replied, his mouth dry.

"It's a different kind of dirty. Not good, but different. If you killed her, it would be a permanent stain on your hands that you can never wash away. Something that you feel constantly like…like a scar…" He trailed off, seemingly lost in his thoughts, before he clicked his tongue again. "And that's not something that you, of all people, should have." His ear twitched and his expression became unsettled. "Reyes, I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

The Pokémon around Azalea went flying, and from there things happened in such a short breath Reyes didn't think that he saw it properly. In the same instant that she burst free with her arms up to release the full extent of her elevated psychic abilities, Dominic's mane rose on end as if it was some other entity entirely—maybe an agitated Pineco would've been a better metaphor—and a circle of hellfire erupted all around her, startling her still until little licks of flames landed on the material of her dress. That was when they started to burn.

"You _bastard!_" Reyes spun, fully intent on shredding Dominic, and while Dominic looked very ready for the consequences, head bowed submissively, Reyes had more pressing matters. He tossed the broken pieces of asphalt and debris at her, hoping to staunch the flames, but they simple passed around the rocks and worked their way up her slender body. Pokémon scattered from her in seconds, instincts warning them of the danger, yet a handful of slower ones still perished as hellfire razed their skin and burned it to the bone, and that was bleached until there was nothing left but a tiny wisp of smoke. It sickened him to think that the same thing would happen to her—no, to be _seeing _the same thing happening before his eyes. He watched her dress burn away from the hem up, her eyes tearing in pain as she cried and whimpered, her skin turning a blistering red before cracking and peeling away like tree bark. Reyes tackled her and put his arms around her, pulling the flames from her body and onto his much more flammable one.

"Don't—" She was choking through her tears. "Don't—don't try to—get my—forgiveness."

"I'm not." The words stuttered through as he fought to loosen his jaw enough to talk. God, it _hurt._ "But I won't forgive _myself_ if I see you burn away like this."

She closed her eyes and pushed her face into his chest, gripping his arms tightly as she tried not to have a fit from the burning agony. Reyes was beginning to get used to the pain in some sick way. He never intended to die, however, as far as ways of doing so went, that could've been worse. He protected what mattered until his last breath; it justified things enough for him to make peace. Just as he was resigning himself to the idea, the flames abruptly vanished. He held onto Azalea dumbly, not quite processing it, until he heard a loud and feral cry behind him. He looked around and, sure enough, there were several burned patches of asphalt but no hellfire.

"Rey…s…" He didn't turn to look, but he knew that was Dominic speaking, all hesitant and small. His voice was weak and pained. "'s she…?"

He glanced worriedly at Azalea, who was still slumped against him, and then assessed the damage to his body. His skin was severely burnt, almost completely black in some places, but he could regrow it given enough sunlight and time. Azalea, on the other hand, couldn't. She felt broken too, her chest barely moving against his.

"Ah…Re…Rey's…" Her breath came short and slow, rumbling through her chest and fighting to escape. The city remained noisy in the background but did nothing to drown out her words, which cut past the blood rushing in his ears. "Ala…kaz'm…'s good… Don't be…ev'l like…like him…like who…killed Brend…" Her eyelids fluttered after a minute, her body getting weaker and weaker until she finally fell, like a doll, into his frozen arms.

"I love you, Lea…" He didn't know if she heard, but it didn't matter. He wanted to say so much more, explaining his motivations and begging for her to understand and wishing for her to stop, wishing she had stopped earlier before she reached the point of no return, but that's why it was named so aptly, wasn't it? He had no doubt Alakazam forced her into this, knowing she couldn't handle so much power, and he wondered if it warped her reasoning and rationality—if so, it only would have make Alakazam's job easier.

"Reyes…she's gone." Dominic's claws swam into view resting gently on Azalea's forehead. Reyes pulled her from his grip without thinking; he didn't fight the action and stepped away, ears lowered. "You should…we have to…"

He picked her up, barely noticing her weight and Dominic's vague questions in the background as he carried her past Pokémon getting medical attention and humans lamenting over their destroyed city, and to a field of soft grass grown by the Grass-types. He laid her down, marveling over how serene she looked, and closed his eyes.

_Alakazam knew…he knew that she could die…_would_ die, and yet he…just to kill _me…

He choked out a breath, eyes wide, and stared at the city. Suddenly it seemed ten times more ominous than before, some sort of sick phantasmagoria dragged out from the bowls of his mind. He could feel himself spiraling, the last of his strength burning away as easily as if by Dominic's flames. Dominic's flames, yet Reyes didn't blame him—it was his own weakness yet again, his own shortcomings that spelled a close friend's death. What reason was there to keep fighting then? What reason did he have to rise again? What chance did they stand against Alakazam? War was long and it was hard, it stole and never returned. Why did Reyes stand, then, in this revolution?


	21. Coda

**Coda**

There was no way for them to sink any lower; at that point it was physically impossible. Dominic and Salamence may not have been _like that,_ but they knew each other and they had each other's back. That was what being a rebel boiled down to: finding relationships in each other, no matter how shallow or how little trust was involved, because only another rebel could have a rebel's back. That culminated in a funny little paradox where Dominic tried to have the rebels' backs, warning them of Alakazam's attack, but they thought him to be a traitor and fended him off. Now they were dead, and now Salamence was dead too. And Dominic was the one who killed him.

It wasn't something he was happy to do, not even after what Salamence had done to him, but like Azalea, he wouldn't let things lie, and with the same grave injuries as Dominic, he still tried to drag himself into the fight. Dominic didn't know where the strength came from, but when it came to head, Dominic was the one who landed the killing blow. Salamence's eyes were regretful in death, and that was what made him cry.

Salamence was dead, Dominic was sore for it, and Reyes was…oh, god, Reyes. For the first time, Dominic wished he had been born a Chansey, because maybe then he could have healed him. All he could do was watch the strongest person he knew crumble into tiny pieces.

In the wake of such a tragedy, where Lilycove was barely more than shards, the revolutionaries saw it fit to slide in. Oh, not when Azalea was going mad with power and killing innocents, no, but when things were said and done and there was a vulnerable city to exploit…

Dominic kept a tight hold on Reyes and faded into the shadows, watching Alakazam strut through the streets, giving his same speech of "causes" and "responsibility" and "good" to the distraught people. Some were injured beyond repair and wouldn't be of use in a fight, but Dominic knew the old guy didn't have much concern for that. What he wanted were numbers: for intimidation, for protection, for sacrifices if need be, as far as he knew Alakazam. And as much as he hated it, he was in no position to stop him. He was injured, and Reyes was…broken.

He hated himself for it, but he turned and fled, leaving the city to fall under the revolutionaries' grasp.


End file.
